Biddeford pays contractor part of bill for overnight center improvements after funding snafu

After a mishap caused federal funding for an overnight warming center renovation project to come to a halt, the City of Biddeford has agreed to pay a local contractor $450,000 of a $655,000 invoice for the work.

In June the City of Biddeford approved the use of CDBG funding through HUD to make improvements to Seeds of Hope at 35 South St. so the building could accommodate up to 60 unhoused people overnight.

The project needed to go through specific reviews and approvals to secure CDBG funding, though some procurement waivers were granted due to the urgency of the project, which needed to be completed by Nov. 1, said Code Enforcement Roby Fecteau at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

“There were two aspects of the project that became emergent issues and needed to be addressed sooner, rather than later, once the project started,” said Fecteau. “The roof had leaks and the exterior windows on the north side of the building were in such disrepair that they were literally falling out of the building when touched.”

Local historic preservation commission approval was needed to replace both the roof and the windows. The original application included approval for the roof, but a request had not been made for the windows, said Fecteau. When the contractor learned that the windows needed approval as well, the windows were already removed and the building needed to be secured from the environment, said Fecteau.

Seeds of Hope received approval from the Historic Preservation Commission for the windows in August, and the information was forwarded to HUD, said Fecteau.

City staff learned from HUD that because work performed on the windows was not included on the original application and was done before all necessary approvals were issued, CDBG funding would not be granted, said Fecteau.

Vassie Fowler, executive director of Seeds of Hope, said the non-profit is serving 36-39 people in its overnight program. She said she expects to serve 60 people overnight in the winter, and may have to turn some away. 

“I’m not a person who places blame or points fingers because that solves nothing. What we have to do now is move forward and figure it out,” said Fowler. “I don’t think that’s easy, but it doesn’t change the fact that it has to happen.”

The contractor, Jim Godbout Plumbing and Heating, has tallied up the total for the project at about $655,700, with an additional $100,000 of in-kind work and donations. The City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday night to pay Jim Godbout $400,000.  Councilor Roger Beaupre abstained from voting as his wife works for Godbout.

Fecteau said Godbout has said he will fundraise to cover the remaining $255,700.

The city has created a second phase of the Seeds of Hope project that will amount to $400,000. This work for this phase will be eligible for CDBG funding as long as all administrative requirements are met, said Fecteau.

City Councilor Marc Lessard said he liked the project and he was in favor of helping unhoused people, but he thought there needed to be a better ongoing record of costs.

“As city officials we did not protect their investment in our city, because we did not know where the money went, and we still really don’t know,” said Lessard.

Lessard said if the city received full documentation of the project, than it should pay Godbout $655,700. Not funding the total amount sends a bad precedent for future contractors who want to work for the city, he said.

“This doesn’t create a very good track record,” said Lessard.

Councilor Liam LaFountain agreed that Godbout should get paid the full amount for the job.

“We agreed to do this project. We agreed to fund it. The mechanism was somewhat hazy at the time. We thought we were able to achieve it through CDBG funds. That ended up not being the case,” he said.

Godbout is known for his volunteer work and in-kind donations on local projects, including his help transforming a church to a community center and completing much needed improvements to a local athletic field.

“I think the man deserves his money, He deserves more than that, frankly, for all that he’s done for the city,” said Councilor Norman Belanger.

He said the city should pay Godbout the $400,000. If Godbout can’t fundraise the rest, the city should help him.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.