High bids may delay work on police station

Holliston officials are scrambling to find a way to pay for a new police station after bids for the project came in nearly $1 million higher than expected. The station could be delayed by months, said the committee chairman who is heading up the project.

"If we have to redesign and go through a process where we have to start construction several months later," finishing the station by the end of next year will probably not be realistic, said Jon Juhl, chairman of the Police Station Building Committee .

The town had hoped to begin work on the station this month and finish it by next fall.

Voters last year approved spending $6.6 million for the project, including project design, furnishings, technology, and relocating the department. Officials had expected construction costs of around $5.1 million. But bids for the construction alone came in between $5.96 million and $7 million, with Boston-based CTA Construction submitting the lowest number.

"The bids were disappointing," Town Administrator Paul LeBeau said.

"It's almost shocking to see the price increases, especially just very recently," said Lieutenant Keith Edison. He noted that the town had worked with professional cost estimators, who had also failed to predict the spike.

Edison attributed the high bids to rising steel prices, driven by demand from developing countries. "What happens in India and China all of a sudden matters," he said.

Edison was waiting last week to hear whether the police department had received a state grant of about $240,000, which would help close the funding gap. Also, he said, the department would gladly welcome cash donations.

The project has already been scaled down from the original proposal.

Voters in the spring of 2006 shot down a $7.38 million station with nearly 22,000 square feet of space. Officials trimmed the project to about 18,000 square feet, and voters approved the station last fall.

Juhl said he wouldn't even consider asking voters to approve more money for the project until the committee has looked at all other options.

"The town gave us a lot of money with the idea that we can get this thing done," Juhl said.

Juhl said the committee could try to trim the project some more. Also, he said, at least one local contractor has expressed interest in helping complete part of the work on a volunteer basis.

Either option would require the town to ask developers to submit revised bids, a process that takes about six weeks, Juhl said.

Edison said he is concerned that during the wait time, project costs might continue to rise.

"As you look at alternatives that take more and more time," he said, "you lose that savings because of rising costs."

The study committee will meet Tuesday to discuss how to tackle the problem.

Police Chief Thomas Lambert said that while officials are weighing several options, the town essentially has two choices. "We either have to downscale," he said, "or we have to get more money."