Posted on August 15, 2016
By George Austin, SouthCoasTODAY
On the site where the work will be done overlooking the Swansea Town Beach, representatives of nine different businesses attended a pre-bid meeting for a request for qualifications for an owner’s project manager for the town’s waterfront revitalization project last Thursday.
The owner’s project manager would assist the town in the project in overseeing the architect and construction on the waterfront.
Town Administrator John McAuliffe, Conservation Agent Colleen Brown, Beach Committee Chairman Barry Hetherson and Waterfront Revitalization Committee member Carole Hyland attended the meeting with the prospective bidders for the owner’s project manager job.
McAuliffe gave them an overview of the project and let them look at plans for the waterfront revitalization. He told them he would submit smaller versions of the plans to them digitally.
McAuliffe told them the building on the property that is now shut down goes back to the 1920s when it was a dance hall and later became a senior center. He said the building had a lot of structural problems and leaking roofs and closed about 10 years ago. He said the building will be demolished.
McAuliffe said the town has been working on a waterfront revitalization project for five years and said the current plans include dredging at an estimated cost of about $1 million and another $4 million for site work that will include construction, architectural services and engineering.
McAuliffe told those at the meeting that the work will be funded with town money, not with grants that could put limitations on how the work could be done. McAuliffe said there have been a lot of donations made to the waterfront revitalization project and the town has applied for a state grant to help with the cost.
“The project had a lot of support at town meeting,” McAuliffe said.
McAuliffe said the town hopes to go out to bid on the waterfront revitalization project during the first week of September, but said an environmental impact report could affect that timetable. He said a general contractor would be hired four weeks after going out to bid.
“There is great expectations that we’ll put a shovel in the ground this fall,” McAuliffe said, although he said the work could get pushed back to next spring.
McAuliffe said the town wants the dredging involved with the project to be done in the fall. He said material from the dredging would be used for beach renourishment. Brown said the beach has not been renourished since 1997 and 10 feet of the beach has been lost since that time. McAuliffe said the town is in flux about where the dredging will be done. He said the town has hired someone to map out where the dredging will be done. McAuliffe said that work would start in the next three weeks. Brown said there are shellfish to the south of the boat ramp, but not a significant amount. She said there is a significant amount of shellfish north of the boat ramp which could have an impact on where the dredging is done. She said some shellfish are more desirable to commercial fisherman.
McAuliffe said he wants to hire an owner’s project manager for the waterfront revitalization project who understands dredging, but said it would not be a deal breaker if the person does not. He said he wants the owner’s project manager to jump in and look at the plans for the project and help with the bidding process. He gave those that came to the pre-bid meeting a list of documents that Stephen Keller Architects has said will be needed for the project.
The construction on the property would include two small buildings for a concession stand, life guard station storage, shower area, bathrooms and a meeting room and a boardwalk. The buildings would each be 1,300 square feet.
McAuliffe said the project will also include a feeder beach concept that comes from Norway. He said the area will look like a mini boat ramp where sand is dumped each year to help prevent washout on the beach.
McAuliffe said the boat ramp area next to the town beach is used for vessel launch only, as limited by the state. He said the area can’t be used to have lunch or for other recreational activities, only for boat launches. At some point, McAuliffe said he would like to see the Town Beach area and boat launch married. He said he wants people to have a scenic water view in the area.
Brown said there would be a pervious parking area with gravel put in as part of the waterfront revitalization project. She said most vegetation from the dune to the water will be removed.
There were plans to include a substantial pavilion in the waterfront revitalization project that was removed from the plan, but McAuliffe says he has hope that it could be done in the future.
The deadline to submit bids on the owner’s project manager job is Aug. 12. There were representatives at last Thursday’s meeting from P3 of Norwell, CGA Project Management of Assonet, Atlantic Construction and Management of Concord, Simon Tempest Hill International, Lamoureux Pagano and Associates Architects, RGB of Providence, R.I., NETCO Construction Project Managers of Lexington, CDR Maguire, Inc. of Milton and Park Corporation of Foxboro.
McAuliffe said the Waterfront Revitalization Committee in Swansea is one of the most optimistic groups he has worked with.
“It’s a very visible project,” McAuliffe said. “We want to make it right.”
Source: SouthCoastTODAYDaniel Tavares
