Dear Capital Campaign Supporter:
Whether you enjoyed the snowy options available in our Green Mountains, or headed South to warmer
climates, I hope you have enjoyed your winter. We’ve been very busy at the community sailing center
during our ‘off’ season and have made significant progress toward completing the waterfront of our
wonderful facility.
Once we passed the million-dollar threshold in our capital campaign last fall, we began searching for a
project manager to lead the design and construction efforts for the sailing center. Mike Quaid is a local
civil engineer who recently retired from a project manager role with the Fort Miller Corporation where
he supervised the installation of precast concrete roadways around the country. Prior to that, he worked
as a civil engineer for several local firms, and operated his own construction firm, Quicksilver
Contracting, in the Burlington area. Ironically, Mike was one of the first people to ever to be hired by
LCCSC – way back when Marcel Beaudin and Dale Hyerstay were just getting the organization started.
They hired Mike and his firm to clean out the room in the old Moran plant that the city leased us, and to
make the first improvements to the facility to allow it to be used to host a fleet of sailboats. When I
learned that Mike was retiring from his role at Fort Miller, I asked him if he would be interested in being
considered for this role. Happily, he was!
Mike’s first task was to find an engineering firm to design the project. The steering committee worked
with Mike to create a scope of work, and Mike sent it out to ten firms and requested proposals. We
received four strong proposals and selected GEI out of Woburn Massachusetts to perform this work.
They were in Burlington for a project kickoff meeting in early March and we expect to have preliminary
designs and a project schedule completed by May.
Last fall we applied for funding from the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development’s
Capital Improvements Program. Our application included a letter signed by eight generous donors who
committed to match a grant from the state with private dollars. In March we received notification of an
award of $186,000, and these donors have doubled that amount, bringing us a big step closer to
completing this $3.3 million Capital Campaign. We continue to seek public and private funding for this
project – stay tuned for updates!
I recently spent a few minutes with Mike to get his thoughts on this project:
What’s it like to be back working at the Sailing Center?
I’ve always had an affinity for the Sailing Center, ever since I was hired by Marcel Beaudin to be
Employee #01. Back when we first got permission from the city to use the Moran Plant, I was the one
that went in and ground the welds off the doors and windows, opened up the building, cleaned out the
mess left behind by the pigeons, and set up the bare bones operation we had that first summer. I did
spend some time on the Board after that but resumed my primary calling as a Civil Engineer and have
worked on heavy civil and industrial projects throughout North America since then. Since our new plans
include some major concrete work, pile driving, and hoist installation, it’s a chance for me to help the
Center again and use my experience to manage this exciting project.
What do you think the biggest challenge we will face is?
There are three challenges that are top of mind –
1. The uncertainty of the permitting process. Hopefully we can obtain all the permits we need so that we
can schedule a bid opening for late summer and a construction start on October 1.
2. Inflation and the rising cost of steel is a concern, as steel piling is a major component of this project.
Steel prices have increased 25% in the past 12 months, and who knows where they are going from here.
3. Contractor availability and pricing. This project is a good fit for several of the major contractors in
Vermont. However, labor availability is a concern for them at this time. Also, if major infrastructure
funding from the federal government hits the market at the same time as our project, that could affect
the pricing. In addition, we need this work done between October and May, not the most congenial time
for construction in Vermont. Contractors may add a factor to account for the expectation of inclement
winter weather. On the other hand, in most years the contracting industry is desperate to find work that
fits into the slow October-May period, so these two factors may offset each other.
How has the steering committee been to work with?
We have a great steering committee with a tremendous wealth of varied life experience to draw on for
advice on this project. Their input has been extremely valuable so far and I expect it will be going
forward.
When do you think we will be able to use this new waterfront?
My goal is to start construction October 1 of 2022, and be ready for use on May 1 of 2023.
We are so excited to have Mike back on the LCCSC team and driving completion of this project as quickly
as possible. Please plan to join me, Mike and the rest of the steering committee at a reception at the
sailing center on the evening of Thursday, May 19, from 5:00-7:30. Mike expects to have the full plans
and schedule available. We look forward to celebrating our journey so far!