Woodrow Wilson Building Committee

05/20/2020 Page 1 Committee Members Committee Staff Councilman Gene Nocera, Co-Chair Dr. Michael Conner; Superintendent Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell Co-Chair Marco Gaylord; Director Operations Councilman Philip Pessina Vice-Chair Elise McDermott; Finance and Budget Kristy Byrd Peter Staye; Director Facilities Sheila Daniels Erin Thazhampallath; Secretary John Giuliano Richard Pelletier John Phillips Theodore Raczka Stephen Zarger Anita Dempsey-White Special Meeting Minutes ***Online WEBEX*** Woodrow Wilson Middle School Building Committee Wednesday, May 20, 2020 6:00 P.M Members Present: Councilman Philip J. Pessina Councilman Gene Nocera Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell Richard Pelletier Stephen Zarger Theodore Raczka John Giuliano Sheila Daniels Kristy Byrd Anita Dempsey-White Members Absent: John Philips Staff Present: Dr. Michael Conner; Superintendent Marco Gaylord; Director Operations Peter Staye; Director Facilities Elise McDermott; Finance and Budget Erin Thazhampallath; Secretary Others Present: Hristo Miljovski, Project Engineer, O&G Industries Joe Vetro; Project Manager, O&G Industries Randall Luther; TSKP Mary-Lynn Radych; TSKP Mark Jeffko, Project Exec, O&G Industries  05/20/2020 Page 2 1. Councilman Gene Nocera, Co-Chair calls the meeting to order at 5:58pm. 2. Councilman Gene Nocera calls for a Motion to Approve the Meeting Minutes of April 27, 2020.​ ​Motion by Philip Pessina and seconded by Jeanette Blackwell to approve the minutes of the meeting of April 27, 2020. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. 3. Construction Updates 3.1 Workflow Status: In Progress Joe Vetro; Project Manager, O&G Industries: The sitework right now is finishing up around the building and now they are going to be working on the utilities on the side of the site. The work in Area A is progressing well and the erection should be done by the first week in June. Slabs will be poured in Area B this week and the following week the third floor of Area B will finish up. Right now the roof has been started as well as the Mason. The exterior framing has started and next week the interior framing will begin. We should be seeing paint going on walls by the end of July and early August. Councilman Gene Nocera commends O&G on the progress thus far and it appears that we are on schedule. A. TSKP Status Update Randall Luther; TSKP: In 2018 TSKP completed the negotiation of fees for the project as well as an additional service if the City wanted TSKP to design the FF&E process. At this point we need to move ahead with whoever will be doing this portion of the project. Gene Nocera explains that it was always the Committee's intention to award this scope of work to TSKP and it’s critically important that we move forward. Motion by Philip Pessina and seconded by Richard Pelletier to allow TSKP to add additional services to their contract in the amount of $120,000 for FF&E (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment). Theodore Raczka expresses concern that the economics of this project in our state is going quickly. He is getting more nervous that our funding from the State of CT, due to this crisis, could be evaporating. Are we at a point to ask our contractors to give us a better price in light of the economic crisis? Are we on thin ice on our ability to fund the project or could it ultimately end up in our City tax bill. Councilman Nocera states that it is his understanding that current projects are not in jeopardy the way new projects will be. The bond for this project has already passed and we will need to have this project come under or on budget because we will not be able to go back to the taxpayers for more money. Raczka expresses that we may need to  05/20/2020 Page 3 express that to our contractors as bills come down the road to us and we will need to make difficult choices. Elise McDermott asks if the increase of $120,000 will need a budget transfer. Can we do that tonight or will we need to add that as an agenda item for next month? Nocera states that we will put the Budget Transfer on the agenda for next month so it can be looked at. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. B. O&G Status Update: Joe Vetro; Project Manager, O&G Industries presents to the Committee the Monthly Project Report. The Physical Progress Percentage Complete for the Middle School Construction is currently 19% and Sitework & Landscaping is up to 34%. The total construction funds have gone down slightly from $2,185,355 to $2,153,355. Vetro explains the items for approval…#35 is the Kalwall Frame material and aluminium that was upgraded and #36 is the Catwalk Balcony which is against the construction contingency. The cost of the balcony was not folded into the bid originally so they priced it out this way. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Philip Pessina to approve O&G Change Order #35 and Budget Transfer for Kalwall Frame Material Upgrade - $1,486 against Owner contingency. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Philip Pessina to approve O&G Change Order #36 for Catwalk Balcony - $32,000 against construction contingency. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. 4. Financial Report​: 4.1:​ Elise McDermott; Finance and Budget, presents the Financial Update Report. McDermott updates the committee that with the help of TSKP in amending their invoice structure that we already received our reimbursement #6 from the State. She explains item 4.2 budget transfers. These items have already been approved for both TSKP and O&G by the Committee but we will need to move the money to the correct line items to cover those bills.  05/20/2020 Page 4 4.2: Budget Transfer A. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Philip Pessina to approve O&G Budget Transfer to cover Change Orders #20-33 in the amount of $94,663.00. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. B. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Philip Pessina to approve TSKP Budget Transfer to cover purchase order #38791 in the amount of $4,896.11. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. 4.3: Invoice Approval A. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Gene Nocera to approve O&G Invoice #10 in the amount of​ ​$2,472,636.53. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. B. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Philip Pessina to approve the Eversource Trailer Utility Bill in the amount of $982.28. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. C. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Gene Nocera to approve the WWBC Secretary Timecard in the amount of $350. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. Councilman Philip Pessina commends the secretary, Erin Thazhampallath, for the great work she has been doing for the Committee and would like the minutes to reflect how happy the Committee is with the work she has put into these meetings. D. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Philip Pessina to approve TSKP Invoice #24 in the amount of $42,196.11. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. E. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Gene Nocera to approve BVH Integrated Services (WWMS School Xing) in the amount of $1,400.00. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard  05/20/2020 Page 5 Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. 5. Discussion 5.1: Innovation Lab​: Councilman Philip Pessina announces the Innovation Lab and the excellent work the BOE and executive team have done to receive the grant for this technical aerospace program and the grant will pay for all the equipment. Dr. Michael Conner; Superintendent explains that this is a landmark project and we are proposing an Innovation lab that is a level of connectivity through the aerospace manufacturing pathway. We already have two courses approved by the BOE which will lead to additional certification in the manufacturate aerospace pathway. We also had a great meeting with potential partners in Australia with regards to virtual reality where students can be a part of developing parts of planes in a manufacturing virtual manner. This aligns to our Strategic Operating Plan. This innovation lab will be the pretext that will lead into the students choosing one of the four pathways: STEM, Computer Science, Paralytics, and Aerospace Manufacturing. Dr. Conner provides two videos that highlight this lab and emulates the concepts and vision: ● Middle School Innovation Lab--student as Graphic designer ● EDHUB --Ask town to give up a little bit more to invest in the future of every child who will ever walk through the front door; fancy new fangled library--8 maker labs with themes throughout the building; walls are moveable, magnetized and writable surfaces; transforming learning by teaching workplace skills; many ideas used were from the business sector; students leaving knowing about possibilities they didn't know about before Right now we are focusing on developing the curriculum for this innovation lab. What we did in our phase one academic programming was to design interdisciplinary teams. These interdisciplinary teams will be able to integrate concepts of the innovation lab into core content areas. The Impact of COVID has really changed the process of how we look at academic programming and the design of certain features. This is going to be a seamless integration and alignment with what we are doing in Middle High School: The second video is what the Innovation Hub will look like in totality with our interdisciplinary teams, integration of adaptive software with technology incorporated, small learning communities and curriculum integration which is not just linear but interdisciplinary where students are actively engaged in their own learning. Marco Gaylord; Director Operations adds that he mentioned to the sub committee that this Middle School Innovation Lab is a precursor to the High School Aerospace Engineering program.  05/20/2020 Page 6 We have already started conversations and relationships with Pratt and Whitney and Middlesex College. The ultimate vision is for high school students to graduate with a high school diploma and a two year certificate from Middlesex College and to have an opportunity to work at Pratt and Whitney or other manufacturing companies. It's incredible and this is something that we are really pushing. Dr. Conner always says that “it’s paramount to create a facility that matches our philosophy and the vision of our school district, not to teach 21st century ideas in a 19th century building.” We have to be able to generate excitement in the students and help these students create new skills. After venturing out and visiting other school districts Mr. Gaylord believes that this could be the best innovation middle school in the east coast with the space and with some of the curriculum and redesign units that are being developed. Councilman Gene Nocera points out to the Committee that the Innovation Lab is outfitted through the grant. This is an incredible opportunity for Middletown to land now. Councilman Philip Pessina adds for clarification that the motion will be for adding a third floor over the fitness room which will give the BOE the opportunity to decide where and how to innovate and implement this program. This is a holistic approach to great education for our students. Randall Luther; TSKP: It was anticipated originally that we may need this square footage and we were asked to possibly make provisions for square footage if needed. Right now we have a two story tall fitness room but at the beginning of the project we asked the structural engineer to make sure the fundamental infrastructure was there to provide additional square footage if we needed to go up another floor. The infrastructure is there but what is not there is the floor and mechanical and electrical systems to support this phase. O&G are in the middle of building this building so as soon as it was brought to our attention to potentially move ahead with this we reached out to our structural engineer for a proposal to accommodate these classrooms. We can follow up later with CES for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing . If we can get the steel going before the buildinging is enclosed it would be important to do so. MHAI gave us a proposal for $2,000 to design the steel structure and review the drawings and to review the onsite installation and with our TSKP markup it comes to $2,200 to get that piece off and running and then at the next meeting I will follow up with the additional scope of work. No matter what happens, having that floor slab and structure is a good idea. Kristy Byrd asks for clarification if this will impact the gym area. Byrd is excited for this program and thinks it is phenomenal but just wants to ensure the gym is not compromised. Luther assures that the fitness center should not be encumbered in a negative way. Luther adds that the floor that we are adding is on the third floor which allows us to take programs that were currently assigned to the space adjacent to the media center and move them up to the new square footage and the innovation lab could go on the ground floor near the loading dock for easy access to bring in any equipment.  05/20/2020 Page 7 Kristy Byrd asks if music in the fitness center will hinder what is going on above and Luther says that it won’t if they design it correctly but it is being looked at. There may be some technical acoustics to solve. Councilman Philip Pessina states that Joe Vetro brought up that they are fireproofing the steel areas and if this motion passes tonight O&G will need to fireproof the steel in that area so we don’t lose continuity. Councilwoman Jeanette Blackwell asks what the capacity of the innovation lab is. Luther explains that it depends on what equipment is put in but it is the size of two classrooms. Blackwell thanks Dr. Conner and team for being such visionaries and this is exciting for the students of Middletown. Blackwell asks what two courses have been approved by the BOE and Dr. Conner states that they are introductions to manufacturing and the second course is in engineering. Richard Pelletier asks if the group space will be accessible to people with disabilities and Randall Luther and Dr. Conner states that it will be accessible to everyone. Peter Staye asks if the funding for the steel would be a component of the building committees contingency and Marco Gaylord states that outfitting the room is part of the grant but not building the room. Motion by Philip Pessina and seconded by Jeanette Blackwell to approve the fee proposal for structural engineer Michael Horton Associates, Inc. (MHAI) to complete additional work for the flooring in the Fitness room to create requested additional square footage for the Innovation lab. $2,000 + TSKP markup for a total of $2,200. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. 5.2:​ South Fire District: Councilman Philip Pessina opens the discussion responding to the South Fire Marshall’s request for areas of refuge. They had a meeting with the South Fire District Marshall and it was a great meeting and the decision was made to label the areas ``Area of Rescue” and part of the discussion was that there would now be two communication panels. Mary-Lynn Radych; TSKP states that it was a positive outcome for all and South Fire understood how the school will manage evacuations. The two panels are on the main entry on the bus loop side at Hunting Hill Rd. and on the main entry by the administration area. That way there is communication to both points and that was an additional request. At the third floor top landing of the three stairwells we can accommodate up the 7 wheelchairs. Councilman Philip Pessina asks if we need a motion and Sheila Daniels states that we can not make a motion because it is not an action item. We can do it by consensus but not as an action  05/20/2020 Page 8 item. Mary-Lynn Radych states that TSKP will be preparing a proposal request with documentation to describe what is being added to the project and O&G will price out and bring to the committee. The current number is only an estimate. Councilman Gene Nocera states that he spoke to Legal and we can come back to this with a formal estimate but we can also make a motion to move forward with a motion to approve the items. Motion by Gene Nocera and seconded by Philip Pessina to move forward with Areas of Rescue and additional communication panels. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Sheila Daniels abstains from the vote. Motion passed with 9 votes to approve. 5.3:​ Existing WW Cafeteria Structure: Councilman Philip Pessina states that this will be kept on the agenda but there is nothing to discuss this month. 6. Motion by Jeanette Blackwell and seconded by Theodore Raczka to Adjourn the meeting at 7:12pm. All those in favor: Gene Nocera, Philip Pessina, Jeanette Blackwell, John Giuliano, Richard Pelletier, Steven Zarger, Theodore Raczka, Sheila Daniels, Kristy Byrd, Anita Dempsey-White. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Erin Thazhampallath Recording Secretary