The early stage of construction on the new Sunapee Highway Department Facility.

When you hear the word Sunapee, your first thoughts may be of Lake Sunapee, or perhaps Mount Sunapee if you are a ski enthusiast. Actually, the town of Sunapee shares its name with a lake, mountain, and broad geographic area (the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region).

While tourists and recreation enthusiast enjoy an offering of year-round amenities and, what may be for some a respite from more hectic duties and responsibilities, the day-to-day functions of local government, and the need for municipal services go on. Keeping the roads in great shape and continually passable for Town residents, and the Town’s visiting guests, are part of the responsibility reserved for the municipal highway department, and Sunapee’s Department is one of the best!

Last year, the Town of Sunapee approached Trumbull-Nelson and expressed an interest in learning more about the potential benefits of teaming with a qualified construction management company to help meet its building needs for a Highway Department facility. At that time, the Town was finalizing a deal with residents Stewart and Lois Gallup to accept their land gift for this Project. Building Committee members were meeting to assess site options, and to consider construction delivery system options (i.e. Construction Management, Design/Build, etc.). After a formal interview process of qualified Construction Management companies, the Building Committee chose Trumbull-Nelson to both design and manage the building process.

As one would expect, municipal building projects typically require substantial funding, and the tax dollar support of the community. Few Sunapee residents questioned the need for a new Highway Department facility. The focus of concern was funding. The Building Committee needed timely and accurate information from its Design/Build Construction Manager regarding the scope of the work, its cost, and the related building schedule on which decisions could be based. The “Team”, consisting of the Town Manager, Selectmen, Building Committee Members, the Town’s Road Agent, Trumbull-Nelson’s Project Manager, and Trumbull-Nelson’s design associates, met often to develop the information resources required for such a decision. The end result: an informed public, and a highly effective process for moving building plans forward!

Trumbull-Nelson is currently nearing the completion of the 12,000 square foot, wood-frame facility that includes office support space for Department personnel. One interesting design note: the final design was sized and developed using actual Town equipment.