The Marblehead School Committee’s Roof Subcommittee voted unanimously last week to recommend awarding the High School roof and HVAC replacement contract to Homer Contracting, the lowest bidder, after a competitive bidding process delivered results more than $2 million below expectations.
The recommendation follows weeks of technical review, community input, and extensive analysis of roofing alternatives, particularly a liquid-applied system that some had hoped would offer significant savings but ultimately carried far higher costs.
This past week, the School Committee approved its recommendation unanimously.
LeftField Senior Project Manager Leena Long reported at the Roof Sub Committee meeting that the general contractor portion, previously projected at just over $11 million, attracted six bidders, with the low bid submitted by Homer Contracting at $8.97 million.
“So that’s great news,” Long said. “We got great bid coverage with six bidders,” noting the project is “a little over $2.1 million under budget.”
Ralph Wallace, a member of the subcommittee, highlighted the strength of the procurement results, pointing out unusually high contractor participation across trades. HVAC bids, which comprise about 70% of the project cost, were “highly competitive,” and roofing bids were similarly strong.
“This is a very good outcome,” Wallace said. “From a procurement standpoint… this was a good time to take bids.”
