WILLIAMSBURG – With construction for the Depot Road Culvert project underway, the Williamsburg Board of Selectmen discussed a request for an addendum for additional payment from the engineering firm who did the initial design work for the project during the board’s Oct. 7 meeting.

Town Administrator Nick Caccamo said the addendum included a request for an additional $10,000 following an initial $21,000 lump sum payment for the original $24,500 bill.

“Hill Engineering who provided the initial design work and engineering for the project has requested a contract addendum. In May of 2020, the Board of Selectmen signed a contract with Hill Engineering for $24,500. There is about a $13,000 difference between the two contracts, considering you already have $3,000 in hand, they are asking for an additional $10,000 for work that has been provided or will be provided,” he said.

One of the reasons for the request for additional payment is the fact that the project changed from a one-to-one replacement to a larger box culvert design.

“Hill Engineer has gone through some changes on this project as they have cited on their updated proposal, including the culvert itself, which they believed at the time was going to be a one-to-one replacement that eventually turned into a box culvert design resulting in increased time, effort and engineering costs,” Caccamo said.

In the original contract, Caccamo said the firm had the opportunity to reassess the price after Phase 2 of the project, but it seemed late for the reassessment to come in.

“The original contract does allow for Hill Engineer to reassess the contract after the initial site assessment and schematic design. The original proposal stipulated that the Phase 2 estimated fees were to be updated after the completion of Phase 1, which includes that site assessment and schematic design,” he said.

Because of a 10 percent buffer included when the funds were appropriated for the project at the Special Town Meeting on Aug. 31, Caccamo said the town could pay for the price of the addendum, but he said he had concerns about paying the addendum outright.

“I have concerns with some of their price increases, particularly around the construction documents and bidding portion of their scope of work. After the pre-bid conference I was picking up the slack of administering the contract with Maxymillian and negotiating that,” he said. “They were largely removed from the conversation so I think there may be some flexibility for me to get a lower amount.”

After Caccamo said the firm underwent some management changes, board chair Dave Mathers said he did not want to pay them because of those changes.

“It’s not that they are not doing a good job, I think they have had it in a little extra and that may be due to the management change in their company, but that is not our problem,” he said.

Board member Denise Banister said she was okay with paying more for Hill Engineering’s services but said an additional $10,000 was too much.

“When you agree to do a job for a price and then all of a sudden change that, I can justify some, but I cannot justify all. Some of this stuff they are supposed to be doing and in reality, Nick is doing it. A 50 percent increase in the project is pretty steep,” she said.

Ultimately the board authorized Mathers to sign the agreement once further discussion with Hill Engineering has taken place.

During the meeting, the board also announced the town is looking for a new building supervisor, which includes a $9,000 stipend.

The Board of Selectmen next meets on Oct. 21