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- STM 2022-3 Frequently Asked Questions
STM 2022-3 Frequently Asked Questions
Article 5
- Q: Has the Town explored using the swimming pool bathrooms which are located 300 ft. away from the playground bathrooms?
- A: The swimming pool restrooms are available during the swim season (early June through Labor Day) for swimmers and park users during the hours of operation when the pool is open to the public and is staffed. In the off-season, the facility is winterized and is not staffed. The Center Recreation Restroom and DPW Maintenance Building is available to DPW year-round, and the restrooms are available approximately April through November.
The restrooms at the pool are also located within the locker rooms, and it would not be a space to be left unstaffed from dawn to dusk for a variety of safety concerns.
Additionally, the swimming pool facility has no heating capacity. In the Center bathrooms, it does have heating to reduce the possibility of freeze-ups in the shoulder months. However, once the facility is winterized, the heating is turned off. The swimming pool bathroom facilities would pose a much more significant safety risk than the Center bathroom facility. It is not recommended to use those bathrooms when the facility isn’t staffed.
- A: The swimming pool restrooms are available during the swim season (early June through Labor Day) for swimmers and park users during the hours of operation when the pool is open to the public and is staffed. In the off-season, the facility is winterized and is not staffed. The Center Recreation Restroom and DPW Maintenance Building is available to DPW year-round, and the restrooms are available approximately April through November.
- Q: Has the Town made an effort to value engineer or change the scope of work to construct the Center bathrooms within the approved budget?
- A: When the Town received the bad news from the bid for the Center Bathroom Project, staff from the Dept. of Public Facilities met with Dept. of Public Works (DPW) and Recreation staff about the change in scope of the proposed program. Specifically, two major options were discussed. The first would be to return the bathroom plans to the same format the bathrooms are today (gender specific and non-inclusive). The second was to eliminate the roof modifications, which would allow the DPW to store their maintenance equipment inside.
The first idea was not considered because the main goal of the new design was for gender-neutral facilities PLUS an improved design that was centered on safety. Currently, the women’s bathroom is located to the rear of the facility and has very poor sightlines. The bathrooms are presently designed for “Men” and “Women”, which does not include any other gender-neutral option. The new design is centered on safety and single-stall inclusive restrooms, plus a family restroom, and a fully handicapped accessible restroom.
The idea to remove the roofline modifications was discussed, but it was thought to be more important to eliminate the storage containers and have better maintenance facilities for the field equipment. Therefore, the option to eliminate the roofline modifications was not considered.
As far as value-engineering the facility, this work has been done in previous efforts. There is no excess to trim, there are no simpler or cheaper ways to construct this renovation. The reason for the shortfall is simply the construction market.
- A: When the Town received the bad news from the bid for the Center Bathroom Project, staff from the Dept. of Public Facilities met with Dept. of Public Works (DPW) and Recreation staff about the change in scope of the proposed program. Specifically, two major options were discussed. The first would be to return the bathroom plans to the same format the bathrooms are today (gender specific and non-inclusive). The second was to eliminate the roof modifications, which would allow the DPW to store their maintenance equipment inside.
- Q:Where did the original budget of 680k come from?
- A: The original budget was $915,000 but after value engineering and a reexamination at the cost estimate, the budget was reduced to $680,000.
- Q: The $400k request includes $100k for ‘soft goods’--wasn’t that part of the original bid voted on last spring? Shouldn’t at least part of that be included in the original 680k?
- A: The $100,000 is for soft costs, which include things like concrete testing, architect fees, technology, etc., which are items that may not be carried by the contractor. We could pull out certain things from the contractor and self-perform that specific scope of work to reduce costs in case the bid comes in high again. An example of this could be the purchase and installation of the locking hardware.
Generally, however, we would want the contractor to be responsible for the entire scope of the project so that responsibility falls 100% on the contractor. It avoids finger pointing in the event of a problem.
- A: The $100,000 is for soft costs, which include things like concrete testing, architect fees, technology, etc., which are items that may not be carried by the contractor. We could pull out certain things from the contractor and self-perform that specific scope of work to reduce costs in case the bid comes in high again. An example of this could be the purchase and installation of the locking hardware.