Topping-off ceremony held for new Rehoboth Beach Patrol

Almost a year after construction began, Rehoboth Beach celebrated the installation of trusses on the city’s new beach patrol and comfort station building with a topping-off ceremony Jan. 21.

The building’s trusses have been in place for about a week. To celebrate, city officials, staff, current lifeguards and former lifeguards signed a piece of sheathing that was installed above a window facing Baltimore Avenue.

Due to the frigid temperatures, Mayor Stan Mills kept his comments short. He thanked the two dozen people who attended the event and said he’d have much more to say at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in May.

As for construction, J.D. Bartlett, project manager for the city’s construction management firm EDiS, said during an update to commissioners Jan. 17 that the recent snowstorm and subsequent low temperatures have caused some delays, but there’s still a five-week buffer from when the project is expected to be substantially complete and the opening of the season mid-May.

It’s incremental, but costs for the project continue to rise and the total cost is nearing $1 million over the original estimate – the original contract cost for the project was about $4.9 million. The current total is now $5.7 million.

Since the beginning of December, there have been about $60,000 worth of change orders approved, half of which are related to the installation of additional trench drains to the stormwater system to protect the ground level from rain infiltration. Another $10,000 was related to the removal and replacement of an existing ramp and planter so there could be a proper tie in.

Bartlett said the trench drain was added now for preventative measures and because it would be much more expensive to add in the future.

Bartlett said there’s another $25,000 in change orders pending. One is related to soil spoils removal and the other is related to demolition of an underground conduit that was discovered during the relocation of the transformer, he said.

Looking forward, the construction team is pushing to have the building weather tight by March 1. That’s an important date to hit because it will allow for work on the temperature-controlled equipment, he said.