NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Officials expect to have bids on the $65 million Greylock School project in hand by the end of January. 

 

The bidding documents were complete as of Tuesday and were expected to be available on Project Dog, an online document platform for contractors, before the end of the week. 

 

"If they're interested, they can download the documents to review," Timothy Alix of Collier's International, the owner's project manager, told the School Building Committee on Tuesday. "Only pre-qualified bidders will be allowed to bid at this point. And our two bid dates, we have two separate ones, one for the filed subbidders, and that's going to be Dec. 17, and then with the (general contractors) being due on Jan. 14. ...

 

"By mid-January, we'll have our our number from a general contractor." 

 

The committee does have the option to extend the deadline for any additional plans or clarifications. The documents will have two alternates — the pickleball/basketball court and the Appalachian Trail kiosk. 

 

Jesse Saylor of TSKP Studio, the project designer, clarified that the kiosk was always part of the plans but is considered an alternate for pricing. The court has an estimate of $300,000; the project has so far been running $1 million below the estimated cost. 

 

He did give committee members a bit of scare when he quoted a price of $500,000 for the small kiosk, which will have water and electricity during the summer for hikers. 

 

"Maybe I'm missing something here, but it's a kiosk," said member Richard Alcombright."It would seem to me that there's water in the road, and it also seems to me that the power is close by. No matter where you go, you're gonna have lights in the parking lot."

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey asked if had an extra zero and Saylor said, "I think it's expanded in its cost and scope since our last estimate," but agreed the price was "overkill" and he would check back on the actual estimates.

 

The trail kiosk was put in on school property on Phelps Avenue, over which the Appalachian Trail runs, and North Adams was designated as an Appalachian Trail Community in 2016. The kiosk is dedicated to Thomas "Moto" Sheehan, a city native and avid hiker who died young. 

 

"We made pretty much significant verbal commitments to that piece of the property, and the community went through a lot of time and a lot of work to get our designation for the AT," said Alcombright, mayor when the city received the designation. "I certainly think we should have a basketball court, pickleball. I think it should be a nice center for the community. But I just want to make a strong statement that that kiosk, in some way, shape or form has to remain. That's just my own opinion, and I'm sticking with it."

 

The mayor confirmed it will "remain in some form or fashion, but not at $500,000."

 

Member David Moresi joked you could build a five-bedroom house for that price and that it was incumbent upon the committee to keep a sharp eye on costs and look outside the project for funding, if needed. 

 

"If the need comes, there's going to be the community rallying behind it," he said. "There's a very symbolic nature behind this kiosk, as well as the hikers of the AT that it serves. So do keep that in mind."

 

Saylor said he would also have to check with the Conservation Commission about the pickleball court, since it wasn't clear if that alternate had been part of the plans approved last month. He believed it would be far enough in setback from the wetlands to not be significant. 

 

The committee held off on setting its January meeting, considering it might combine with February so as to have time to review the January bids. Alix said only three general contractors have been prequalified.

 

"Once we check their documents, their payment and performance bonds, and check their goal — how they plan to achieve their goals for supplier diversity — and their insurance certificates and that sort of stuff that won't take long once they get them to us," said Alix. "So I think that first or second week in February would work as fine as well."