Orleans Fire Rescue Building Committee advances architect RFQ toward November publication

ORLEANS — November 3, 2025 — Orleans Fire Rescue Building Committee refines architect solicitation for new fire station. The committee spent the bulk of its November 3 meeting reviewing a draft Request for Qualifications prepared by owner's project manager Taylor McDonald of Pomeroy, debating how design phases should be structured and whether the $4.5 million design appropriation was sufficient to carry the project through construction bidding — which McDonald said she believed it was. DPW Director Rich Waldo argued the draft's phasing language was "really rigid" and could mislead prospective firms into thinking the town had no funds beyond schematic design; the committee directed McDonald to restructure the phases so that only construction and closeout — Phase 3 — would be explicitly contingent on additional town meeting appropriation. OES Representative Kathy McNamara raised the possibility of a single-item special town meeting if the project cannot align with the traditional May or fall schedule, saying vitally important projects "do not need to adhere to that May, October, November schedule." The RFQ was set to publish November 5, with submissions due November 21 at noon and a shortlist review scheduled for December 1.