School Building Committee (2020)

School Building Committee (2020) Regular Meeting Lower Level, 23 Union Street, Norwich, CT And via ZOOM Tuesday, December 19, 2023 6:30 PM Committee Members Present: Chairman Mark Bettencourt, President Pro Tem Joe DeLucia (ZOOM), Stacy Gould, William Hull (ZOOM), Gregory Ballassi, Sheila Hayes, Cindy Beauregard, Mark Kulos and Peter Gauthier (ZOOM). Committee Members Absent: Christine DiStasio and Gregory Carabine. Ex-Officio Members Present: Mayor Peter Nystrom; City Purchasing Agent Bob Castronova; and Superintendent Susan Lessaard (ZOOM). Consultants Present: Greg Smolley and James Barrett from DRA; Tom Romagnoli from Downes Construction; and Mike Faenza from CSG. Citizens Present: Chris Fryxell, David Jarvis, Keith Brothers, Joe Toner, Kimberly Glassman and Yolanda Rivera. I.Call to Order and Quorum: Chairman Mark Bettencourt called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. II.Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes: Mark Kulos made a motion to approve the November 21, 2023 meeting minutes as written. Stacy Gould seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. III.Public Comment: Chris Fryxell from the Connecticut Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors stated that his association, which was made up of merit shop contractors in that state that work in commercial industrial construction, would like to be invited to present their position on labor agreements in front of the SBC. Chris Fryxell stated that he spoke with Chairman Mark Bettencourt who told them that could potentially happen at the January meeting. IV.Presentation from David Jarvis et. al. regarding Project Labor Agreements: Keith Brothers from the Connecticut State Building Trades Council (CSBTC) gave a brief history of project labor agreements in the state and throughout New England, where a lot of relationships existed. Keith Brothers explained that a PLA is a pre-hire agreement between the owner of a project and the New London/Norwich Building Trades Council that sets goals for things such as local hiring, apprentices, wages and benefits. Keith Brothers stated the PLA helps kickstart not only job opportunities but careers. Keith Brothers noted the CSBTC would also assist in facilitating a partnership with the community during what will be one of the largest budget building projects in the city. Joe Toner, the executive director of the Connecticut State Building Trades Council, explained that the specific language in the PLA allows for non-union workers to work on the project and could contain conditions that ensure residents have the opportunity to work within their community. Joe Toner stated the CSBTC anticipates that if the city does enter into a PLA it will re-generate over 20 million dollars in wages and benefits to Norwich residents with a 25% hiring goal. Joe Toner noted all the opportunities would be prevailing wage jobs with good benefits. Joe Toner stated the CSBTC offers 4 to 6 year apprenticeship programs within the trades and collectively spends over 30 million dollars of their own money on training. Joe Toner continued that the apprentices do not incur any training fees and typically attend school in the evening after the work day. Joe Toner continued that the goal also would be to incorporate graduating seniors into the union apprenticeship program and to work one of the school projects while making prevailing wages and being trained at no cost to them. Joe Toner showcased photos of different apprenticeship programs on all to see and discussed the high graduation percentage rates. Joe Toner stated that when an apprentice joins the CSBTC they also have the opportunity to work for as many signatory contractors that the labor union has available. Kimberly Glassman, Director of The Foundation for Fair Contracting of Connecticut, stated that her labor management organization had operated in the state for 30 years and represented affiliates of the CSBTC as well as many other groups that support personal labor agreements. Kimberly Glassman discussed a distributed White House press release from the previous day regarding President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring that personal labor agreements be executed on large-scale federal construction projects. Kimberly Glassman also discussed a report by the Beacon Hill Institute in regards to personal labor agreements, and requested the credentials of such reports be taken into consideration if the board was to hear a presentation from Connecticut Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors. Kimberly Glassman stated that reports conducted by Michigan State University and Cornell University found that a PLA did not increase school construction costs. Kimberly Glassman noted that a PLA did not limit who can bid on a project and that non-union contractors as well as union contracts were able to place bids when using a PLA. Kimberly Glassman added that Public Act 21-154 which codifies prevailing wage contractor rates stated that personal labor agreements do not increase project costs. Yolanda Riveras, Director of the Connecticut State Building Trades Training Institute discussed a brief history of the institute that was officially established in 2022. Yolanda Riveras stated the institute provides opportunities for people of color, women, returning citizens and opportunity youth. Yolanda Rivers explained that the institute served as a feeder to facilitate the enrollment process into the unionized workforce. Yolanda Rivers continued that the institute partners with the CSBTC and each local council, as well as the Joint Apprenticeship Training Directors Committee of Connecticut and Construction Workers Initiative. Yolanda Rivera discussed the services offered by the BTTI and the placements and participating building trades. Yoland Rivera reviewed the career opportunities created for high school students that were reached while still in school. Yoland Riveras noted that a personal labor agreement would include all of the discussed community benefits. Joe Toner pointed out the recent Killingly High School as a successful project that utilized a PLA, and that due to its success all new municipality work for the town of Killingly was being put out under a PLA. Joe Toner stated that personal labor agreements were being used in 19 communities in the state. Joe Toner discussed the positives of personal labor agreements across state projects. Mark Kulos asked what the percentage goal was for apprentices out of the total workforce and if it was based on trades. Joe Toner responded he believed it was seven percent per contractor. Mark Kulos asked if some apprentices were to leave the program would continuous hiring occur to meet the goal. Joe Toner responded that was correct and the goal percentage could be included within the PLA. Mark Kulos asked what the timeline was from an apprenticeship to a master. Joe Toner stated it was an average one to four year process. Stacy Gould asked how local hires could be guaranteed. Joe Toner responded that the CSBTC takes the number of Norwich residents that are currently in building trades and begins recruitment from there, and as jobs ramp up the CSBTC will begin dispatching local workers onto the jobsite through their contract. David Jarvis noted it was easy to bring people into the work and discussed the importance in investing in community local workers.  V.Report from CSG: Mike Faenza stated weekly design meets were occurring between the DRA team and Board of Education administration. Mike Faenza reported that he had been working with the Norwich Police Department (NPD) to get a better idea of the access to the Greeneville site from Boswell Avenue. Mike Faenza stated that NPD placed a traffic and speed counter near the proposed entrance to get preliminary traffic information and he was awaiting that data. Mike Faenza stated he was also working with Norwich Public Utilities to get a better understanding of utility costs at the Greeneville site. Mike Faenza reported that an RFP was drafted for architectural services, depending on if the committee elected to utilize the same model that was used for conceptual and schematic design with the same firm for the Greeneville and Stanton projects. Mike Faenza stated he sent out the budget for the master plan to the estimator to benchmark the cost before progressing further in order to ensure numbers are accurate. Mike Faenza noted that since the estimate was done in 2022 and the project would not be complete until 2026 it would be valuable to re-benchmark the cost prior to approaching the state for a new grant application. Mike Faenza stated that once he received the budget figures back he would bring the numbers provided to the committee to determine if there is a variance and why that would be. Mike Faenza noted that additional costs were incurred for surveying efforts at Greeneville and Stanton, as the proposal didn’t originally include the entire properties. Mike Faenza stated that DRA would need approval on the additional expenses of $8,800 for the Greeneville site and $7,200 for the Stanton site to proceed. Mark Kulos made a motion to approve the additional expenses, not to exceed $20,000, for surveying work at the Greeneville and Stanton Elementary School sites. Stacy Gould seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. VI.Report from DRA: Greg Smolley reported he met with NPD and the Department of Public Works to begin discussing the Boswell Avenue access at Greeneville but he had not received the traffic data back from NPD. Greg Smolley stated that in regards to the additional surveying, DRA was working to get within five percent of the targeted 80,000 square foot size. Greg Smolley showed buildable zones of the Greeneville site on screen for all to view. Greg Smolley explained that the Greeneville site contains three plateaus that reach from Golden Street to Boswell Avenue and none are large enough to contain all of the work. Greg Smolley stated that the elevation separations between the sites does not correspond to typical floor-to-floor heights or building designs. Greg Smolley stated a structure would need to be built between the floors and added that there was a designated wetland on the site as well. Greg Smolley showed the overall site plan for a three-story option for Greeneville School on screen for all to view. Greg Smolley noted the bus loop had moved from its initial spot, which would now serve better for private vehicles due to the topography. Greg Smolley discussed the various floor plan components for the school. Greg Smolley showed the buildable zones for the Stanton school site on screen for all to view, and noted they were cognizant that the existing building could not be taken offline during construction. Greg Smolley showed the floor plan for a two story option on screen for all to view and discussed layout options. Greg Smolley stated DRA was beginning to work on developing media centers for the school. Greg Smolley discussed the proposed layout of the space. Greg Smolley asked members to begin considering potential combined building materials and thoughts on the exteriors of the building. Greg Smolley showed example photos of buildings on screen for all to see. Greg Smolley stated the exteriors would need to be discussed at the January meeting in order to provide direction to Downes Construction. VII.Report from Downes: Tom Romagnoli stated Downes was gearing up for the schematic design estimate at the end of January and was looking to resolve logistics at Stanton. Tom Romagnoli  stated they were also getting started on processing the amount of excavation at Greeneville and will determine if the product can be reused on site. VIII.Invoices: ● CSG - Greeneville #9 - $10,680.02 Stanton #9 - $10,555.46 Stacy Gould made a motion to approve CSG Invoice #9 for $10,680.02 for Professional Services rendered November 1, 2023 - November 30, 2023 in regards to the Greeneville Elementary School project. Cindy Beauregard seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Mark Kulos made a motion to approve CSG Invoice #9 for $10,555.46 for Professional Services rendered November 1, 2023 - November 30, 2023 in regards to the Stanton Elementary School project. Stacy Gould seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. ● DRA - Greeneville #2 - $87,967.50 Stanton #2 - $96.525.32 Mark Kulos made a motion to approve DRA Invoice #2 for $87,967.50 for Professional Services rendered November 1, 2023 - November 30, 2023 in regards to the Greeneville Elementary School project. Stacy Gould seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Mark Kulos made a motion to approve DRA Invoice #2 for $96.525.32 for Professional Services rendered November 1, 2023 - November 30, 2023 in regards to the Stanton Elementary School project. Stacy Gould seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. IX.Anything else to be brought before the committee: None. X.Adjournment: Stacy Gould made a motion to adjourn at 8:28 PM. Sheila Hayes seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Katherine Rose