Final cost of new Rogers High School becomes clearer. A look at the biggest expenses

The Newport School Committee approved one of three documents that will set the price for the new Rogers High School in stone.

A Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) proposal is a cost estimate document and contract amendment construction managers, such as Gilbane Construction, use to establish the maximum amount of money the client is expected to pay for the construction of its new building. It’s an aspect of the “Construction Manager at Risk” model for construction, in which the construction manager absorbs any costs that exceed the amount listed in the GMP.

The document the school committee unanimously voted to approve on Feb. 15 is just one of three GMPs expected for the new Rogers High School building project. Several bid packages that the School Building Committee has approved for the project, such as final cleaning service, gym equipment and window treatments, are not included in the first GMP because they have not yet been released for procurement, according to the General Clarifications section of the GMP. They will be included as a part of the GMP through a Change Order or a supplemental GMP.

The target GMP for the project, as described in the original contract with Gilbane, was $77.7 million.

How much is the school going to cost?

Gilbane’s first GMP proposal is $97,364,684. The cost estimate includes the cost for 22 bid packages, which are the total amounts for certain aspects of the building like demolition or masonry. It also includes $3.37 million for stuff Gilbane generally needs to run a construction site, such as temporary toilets, dumpsters and project signs. These costs are listed as “General Requirements.” While construction began in August 2022, many of these prices include future work and needs through the expected end of the project in January 2026.

What costs the most?

The bid package toting the largest price tag on the GMP cost summary is the school building’s HVAC system, which costs $12.9 million. It far outpaces the next two most expensive bid packages, $7.98 million for electrical work and $7.7 million for structural steel.

Gilbane also provided a breakdown of the costs included as a part of the $3.37 million for “General Requirements,” the most expensive of which was $537,303 for a Temporary Bus Loop, school parking lot and walkways. There was also a $400,000 charge for dumpster rental, $25,000 for “copy machine,” $50,000 for stationary and office supplies, $20,000 for "progress photos/webcam,” $3,000 for “TV/Monitor” and $5,000 for bottled water.

What was excluded?

Ten bid packages were excluded from the GMP: Final Cleaning, Site Concrete, Specialities/Equipment, Signage, Food Service Equipment, Gym Equipment and Bleachers, Theater and Stage Equipment, Window Treatments, Balance of Sitework and Site Utilities, and Landscaping and Site Improvements. Some of these are not included because they are a part of the Civil and Landscaping designs that are still in development. These all may be included in the other two GMP proposal documents that the School Committee expects to receive in the near future.

Additionally, the GMP also excludes costs for the handling and disposal of soil from the soil stockpile.

What else is in the GMP?

The GMP is somewhat of an amendment to the original construction management contract Newport Public Schools agreed to in April 2021, and as such, the “general clarifications” section adds some new provisions that may not have been originally agreed upon.

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One of these amendments, one that “supersedes and takes precedence over all other terms of the Contract Documents,” according to the language in Gilbane’s GMP proposal, states that, because of the unstable nature of materials and the market right now, Gilbane reserves the right to “assess reasonably unforeseeable impacts on an ongoing basis” and seek adjustments to the GMP as well as an extension of the contract time based on those impacts.

What’s next?

School Committee member and School Building Committee co-chair Louisa Boatwright said the committees are expecting the second GMP document to come “fairly soon” but the other one is not expected until a little while later.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Rogers High School project cost clearer with Guaranteed Maximum Price