NORTHBOROUGH – After months of discussion, the siding project at the Northborough Police Station is moving forward.
During its Oct. 28 meeting, the Select Board awarded the bid for the project to Northeast Construction Inc. The project will involve the selective demolition of the siding in which portions of the deteriorated cedar clapboard will be removed and similarly replaced.
Bids were opened on Oct. 16. Five bids were received, ranging from Cornerstone Construction and Remodeling, which bid $245,000, to Northeast Construction Inc., at $109,450.
Department of Public Works Scott Charpentier said the town reached out to Northeast’s municipal references.
“Every municipality that we spoke to said, ‘If you had the ability to hire for another project, would you?’ They all said, yes, they would,” he said.
During Town Meeting in the spring, voters considered an article to appropriate $540,000 to replace the siding and trim, including $70,000 that was re-appropriated from a previous article. When the project was presented to Town Meeting, residents approved an amendment that reduced the appropriation.
In the weeks and months after Town Meeting, Select Board members discussed the pros and cons of opting to use vinyl siding for the station versus the selective demolition.
On Sept. 9, Charpentier went before the Select Board and said that no bids were received for the project. He said staff reached out to contractors — one said they did not have time to bid on the project, a second said they were not certified with the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and a third said they weren’t sure whether the town wanted to use cedar or vinyl siding.
Charpentier echoed the concerns of the contracted architect that the bid package was likely to eliminate some of the perspective bidders.
“A vinyl siding company is not going to bid on this because they do not do clapboard replacement. A carpentry company is likely not going to bid on it because they’re not going to be competitive on vinyl siding,” he said.
That left them with general contractors, and the profit may not be there for a smaller project like this, he said.
At that time, the board decided to bid out the cedar siding first, previously arguing that wood was a stronger and thicker structure and vinyl stains, collects mildew and mold and requires power washing.
This resulted in the bid from Northeast. Charpentier hoped that the crews would want to get the carpentry work completed this season and either coat, paint or seal it in the spring.
During the Oct. 28 meeting, Select Board members asked questions about the process if additional materials are needed and about damage to the front entrance.
Select Board member Mike Tietjen argued that fully replacing the siding of the building in vinyl is a better option “because that police station has to last decades longer.”
“We can’t afford to build a new police station with the other capital projects that are coming up,” he said.
Tietjen noted that on top of replacing the cedar siding, the building will need to be replaced to repaint the building.
