North Stonington — The long-awaited emergency services building will be the subject of a public hearing at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Wheeler Middle School Cafeteria, where Emergency Services Building Committee members will present an additional request of $2.25 million to cover cost overruns in the project.

The presentation will detail the escalating costs and design changes that led to the current proposal.  

The project originally was approved in 2013 with a budget of $6.36 million. A loan obtained through the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program for community facilities was approved in May 2012 for a 20-year term at 3.375 percent interest.

Early design concepts prepared before the referendum originally depicted a two-story building. However, in response to high cost estimates, architect Silver/Petrucelli + Associates suggested using a one-story structure with a larger footprint.

The committee also chose to reduce the total floor area and use a pre-engineered structure to save money.

The project also was split into two separate phases; the first, which involved much of the site work, was completed last year at a cost of $594,000.

The budget for the second phase was around $4.5 million. However, when the committee received the general contractor bids in August 2015, they ranged from $5.4 million to $6.6 million.

The increased costs are due to estimates that were prepared in 2012 — a time when construction costs dipped across the nation for two consecutive years, according to the committee, which used data from Gilbane Building Company.

Since then, construction costs have risen 8 percent in the past two years alone.

After the bids were rejected, the project stalled when the committee tried to send the project out to bid again but were told by USDA that it needed to get the town's approval for the additional funding request first.

A mill rate has not been set for the project.

Conditions for a USDA loan have only improved since 2012. Because of a new law introduced by state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and passed in October of last year, USDA is able to extend a loan's maximum term from 20 to 40 years for qualifying municipalities.

USDA Area Director in Norwich Johan Strandson noted that he encouraged the town to apply again with the additional request.

Perkins also noted that the committee is pursuing a $300,000 grant in addition to the $300,000 announced by state Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington last year.

After the hearing, the Board of Selectmen will have to request the funding, the Board of Finance will examine the request and it will go to a town meeting and then a referendum if approved.

n.lynch@theday.com

Twitter: @_nathanlynch