Ayer Senior Center Committee Approves $81,962 in Invoices, Defers Kitchen Decision

AYER -- March 19, 2026, Ayer Senior Center Building Committee defers kitchen overhaul decision as project budget sits roughly $115,000 over target. The committee, meeting fully remotely on March 19, voted unanimously to approve a vendor invoice package of $81,962, covering fees from Vertex project management ($11,000) and Catlin Architecture ($70,787, plus $175 in reimbursables), and cleared a backlog of four sets of meeting minutes. Owner's project manager Brian presented a value engineering summary previously shown to the Select Board that identified just over $300,000 in potential construction savings, including $100,000 in soil disposal fee reductions and $95,000 from removing a stone veneer duplication, against a budget overage of $565,247. Committee member Dave Seibor's proposed kitchen upgrades, a walk-in refrigerator, larger commercial stove and hood, and expanded mechanical and electrical systems, were deferred to a working group meeting set for the following Tuesday, with architect John Catlin warning that decisions are needed by end of month. The committee also flagged a Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act review, projected to conclude around August, as the primary threat to a spring or early-summer bid, with a late construction start potentially adding significant winter-condition cost premiums to the project.