Pell School Estimates: What Went Wrong?

During an at times contentious owner’s representative for the Jonathan Winikur tried to put a face on why construction bids came in more than $4 million over budget.

Winikur, of Strategic Building Solutions, said he and architects at HMFH worked with PM&C, an estimation firm, to come up with a bid for the school.

Winikur said he was “shocked” when the bids consistently came in higher, and he admitted they were accurate bids for the project. There were no radical design changes that affected the bids, he said, only minor tweaks to details.

He described the PM&C's estimates as “way off,” despite a prequalifying and screening process for contractors.

“This is something we do have to live with,” he said. 

The audience did not receive Winikur’s explanation that the bids only came in as lump sums well, and questioned why bids were not delineated with costs per line item.

Possible reasons Winikur listed for the overage were interior price escalation, and the fact that historic Newport is a tougher market than other areas.

HMFH architect Laura Wernick said their firm has consistently worked with PM&C, and that this was the first project in five years to be so wrong. Winikur echoed the fact that previous school bids had come in between 5 and 10 percent lower than cost estimates in the past.

School committee member Robert Leary was not empathetic, saying, “Personally, I don’t care what happened in other towns, I care what happened in Newport.”

Kelley said although the bids were a disappointment, it is imperative to deal with the reality of the situation by moving forward and making adjustments to create “the best school that we can for Newport.”

Leary also pointed out there is about $2 million to “play with” in contingency funds and furnishing funds, and all $4 million does not necessarily have to be cut out.

Superintendent John Ambrogi reminded the audience that even after the school committee recommends any changes, they must go back to the Rhode Island Department of Education for approval before the project can move forward.