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Date: 8/7/2015
AGAWAM – Those looking forward to the new athletic facilities at the high school now must wait a little longer. The project has been delayed, according to Mayor Richard Cohen.
The project was approved by the City Council in October 2014 and went out to bid for construction shortly after. However, Cohen said this is where issues began to arise.
The town accepted one bid, but it was soon withdrawn. Agawam accepted the following bid, but that too was withdrawn. The third bid did not align with the budget, so rather than exceed it or rush the project, the decision was made to put it on hold.
“The project is still ongoing; it’s not stopped. I’m sorry we had to delay it, but you
live and you learn,” Cohen said. “I have to be cognizant of the taxpayers, and I wasn’t going to go with the third bid because it was well over the estimate that our engineer and design team put together … We just want to make sure it’s done well, and we look forward to the start of it.”
Cohen said the two construction companies that withdrew cited timeline constraints.
The original timeline had construction beginning this June and being “substantially complete” by September, Cohen said. Now, the project will go out to bid again in October or November, construction will begin immediately after and it will be complete in four or five months time, he said.
The improvements for the $7.5 million facility include a new track, concessions stands, a turf field, bleachers, Title IX compliant locker rooms, a new baseball field with concrete dugouts and a maintenance building with a trainers room, Cohen said.
Because some of the work will be done to the locker rooms inside the school, construction had to be worked around the school schedule. Instead of working from the inside out, Cohen said work will begin during the school year outside and will move inside, allowing for more flexibility for the construction company.
“We feel that this reverse schedule will make it easier,” Cohen said.
Though the schedule changed, the overall plan has stayed in tact.
“Nothing has been taken away from the project. If anything, more has been added than we anticipated in the beginning … All kinds of things have been added,” Cohen said. “The project is large in its scope.”
The Agawam Track Exploratory Committee will conduct a meeting to go over the plans with the engineers on Aug. 13 at the high school. The public is invited to attend.
Despite the delay, Cohen said he is happy to still be moving forward on the project.
“We’re doing everything to make sure our students and our athletes will have everything necessary for a full, well-rounded education,” he said. “I look forward to getting it started and getting it completed. It’ll be something that everyone in the whole town can utilize for healthy living.”