School Building Committee (2020)

School Building Committee (2020) Regular Meeting City Hall, R00m 335 100 Broadway, Norwich, CT And via ZOOM Tuesday, September 17, 2024 6:30 PM Committee Members Present: Chairman Mark Bettencourt, President Pro Tem Joe DeLucia, Alderwoman Stacy Gould, Gregory Ballassi, Sheila Hayes, Mark Kulos and Cindy Beauregard. Committee Members Absent: Peter Gauthier, William Hull, Gregory Carabine and Christine DiStasio. Ex-Officio Members Present: Bob Castronova, Acting Superintendent Susan Lesard (ZOOM), Mayor Peter Nystrom (ZOOM), Mary Lou Richling; Attorney Michael Driscoll, and Bob Harris. Consultants Present: Mike Zahn from MP Planning Group; James Barrett from DRA; Jeff Andersen from Downes Construction; Jim Guliano and Mike Faenza from CSG. Citizens Present: None. I.Call to Order and Quorum: Chairman Mark Bettencourt called the meeting to order at 6:35 PM. II.Approval of Minutes: Gregory Ballassi made a motion to approve the August 20, 2024 regular meeting minutes as amended. Mark Kulos seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. III.Public Comment: None. IV.Report from CSG: Mike Faenza reported the second payment request for the Stanton Elementary School project was approved and paid by the state. Mike Faenza stated the construction document phase was ongoing. Mike Faenza stated that within the packet he distributed to all members in attendance there was a proposal for Pipe Locating and Camera Services for the board’s consideration. Mike Faenza stated there was a need to locate the storm drain routing on site and to determine the condition of a drainage pipe that enters Ford Brook. Mike Faenza reported that the next state payment request would be prepared following the meeting to include any approved invoices. Mike Faenza stated the site logistics were being developed by Downes Construction and should be ready the following week. Mike Faenza reported that a request for structural peer review services was issued to engineering firms. Mike Faenza noted the logistics regarding the opening of the Stanton Elementary School building had not yet been determined and as the project continued the distribution of students and logistics of those moves to the new buildings would need to be analyzed to understand who would be moving to the new building from where. Mike Faenza stated those aspects would need to be looked at in close detail and once the site logistics and an updated schedule were received from Downes Construction they could start to look at when the building would be turned over and when they would be ready for occupancy. Discussion ensued regarding the distribution of students. Mike Faenza noted the structural peer review services they were seeking was a state requirement to have an independent firm analyze the structural drawings of the project. Mike Faenza stated he would need action regarding the proposal of the Pipe  Locating and Camera Services for $1,725 which covered the $1,500 work cost provided by the contractor and a 15% work up. Discussion ensued. Chairman Bettencourt stated he requested council action regarding creating enterprise zones for the schools to address the sewer assessment issues. Sheila Hayes asked when construction was anticipated to begin. Mike Faenza responded in March of 2025. Sheila Hayes asked for an explanation of the camera services being requested. Mike Faenza explained that there is a structure coming out of the ground on site and they are unsure of where it leads to, so the camera being sent into the structure is equipped with a locator similar to a metal detector that will allow them to delineate where the pipe runs. Mike Faenza continued that the camera also had a light that would assist in taking video footage of the inside of the pipe leading into Ford Brook to see if any obstructions are in place and evaluate the condition of the pipe. Mike Faenza stated if the camera footage shows the pipe is not suitable for use they would include the replacement pipe in the construction drawings which would prevent a potential change order. Mike Faenza stated it would be less costly to determine the condition sooner than later. President Pro Tem Joe DeLucia stated if the pipe was included in the scope of work it could be bid on opposed to issuing a change order for it later on. Sheila Hayes made a motion to authorize the expenditure of $1,725.00 for a video inspection survey at the Stanton Elementary School site. Alderwoman Stacy Gould seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Mike Faenza stated that the expenditure amount so far for the Stanton Elementary School project, not including any invoices to be voted on during the meeting, totaled $1,795,526.16. Mike Faenza reported that the project updates for the Greeneville Elementary School project were the same. Mike Faenza stated that the third payment request for the project would be submitted following the meeting to include any voted upon invoices. Mike Faenza reported the expenditure amount so far for the Greeneville Elementary School project, not including any invoices to be voted on during the meeting, totaled $$1,819,402.13. Mike Faenza stated the submission deadline for the Architect RFP for the Moriarty Elementary School project had passed. Mike Faenze reported the city received 10 submissions and that MP Planning Group was issued a purchase order for the demographic update. Mike Faenza stated that work was ongoing and that MP Planning Group received some enrollment numbers but were waiting for the final October enrollment figures. Mike Faenza reported that the architect scoring rubrics were received from the School Building Committee members and a summary was created for discussion. Mike Faenza stated a schedule for interviews would need to be determined. Mike Faenza reported that 10 submissions were received for the Architect RFP for the Uncas Elementary School Project. Mike Faenza stated that MP Planning Group was working on the demographic study and that the architect scoring rubrics for the project were received from the School Building Committee members. Mike Faenza stated that the next milestone for the Teacher’s Global Magnet Middle School Project would be the determination from the city if they want to proceed with renovating the building as-new or building new. Mike Faenza stated the decision would need to be made by March 2025 in order to support a grant application for the project in June 2025. Jim Guiliano advised leaving time for the architectural firms to come in and the other needed components. Discussion ensued. V.Report from DRA: James Barrett reported DRA had been working on construction documents that were due October 4th and came across new items to explore during that process. James Barrett showed the approach to the Greeneville site entry from Boswell Avenue on screen for all to see that had been identified in the schematic design and design development phase.  James Barret explained there would be a right turn into the site from Boswell Avenue that became a straight shot which would require retaining on each side of the roadway and a roughly 10% slope throughout certain portions. James Barrett stated the slope would recede back to a five percent slope. James Barrett stated they explored the potential of a winding entrance versus straight but found that would still require a retaining wall on the upper side. James Barrett added that the current approach allows for a sidewalk, which they wanted an option for that potential in case it was required. James Barrett stated the document as now shown has a curvature in the entrance way but keeps the retaining walls. James Barrett noted this would be the approach for their meeting with the Office of Grant Administration, but they would need to review the layout with city planning and zoning. James Barrett stated he did not anticipate any planning and zoning issues so the work may be an administrative approval. James Barrett stated there would be an option to turn left or right to exit onto Boswell Avenue from the site, but only a right turn option to enter. Discussion ensued regarding the locations of the sidewalks in the area. James Barrett continued that there was a realignment of the bus drop-off zone at the Greeneville site. James Barrett stated the engineer felt if the intersection at the Golden Street entrance at the south of the property could be flattened it would work better. James Barrett showed on screen for all to view how the design was reconfigured from angeled to 90-degree parking to allow for more spots. James Barrett discussed the other design changes and showed example layouts and comparisons on screen for all to view. James Barrett stated that DRA continued weekly meetings with their full team as well as individual meetings with the different disciplines such as structural and engineering. James Barrett reported the next step after receiving the construction drawings on October 4, 2024 would be to refocus on the OGA outreach to prepare for their Plan Completion Test on November 14, 2024. James Barrett reported that DRA had been meeting with administration to review furniture, fixture and equipment documentation. James Barrett stated they were working through school spaces to make sure everything was covered and to identify and commit specific furnishings. James Barrett stated there would be a required signalization by planning and zoning, which was an off-site improvement, at the Boswell entrance. James Barrett showed on screen for all to view where the traffic signal would be located on Boswell Avenue. James Barrett stated there would be a signal at the entry and a flasher further up the road at the crest of the hill to notify drivers of the upcoming signalized intersection. President Pro Tem DeLucia asked if the cost of the signalization would be outside of the property. James Barrett stated it was outside of the reimbursement for the project but it would be included in the cost estimate bid, which totaled several hundred thousand dollars. James Barrett stated what was now being requested was to utilize the allowance for traffic documentation at the Stanton Elementary Site, which was unneeded. James Barrett stated a traffic study was done at Stanton that totaled approximately $25,000 and a study was done at Greeneville totaling approximately $30,000, but there was a separate allowance for off-site design considerations like the signalization. James Barrett stated there was a slight overage in the allowance they were hoping to work within for the traffic signalization. Mark Kulos asked if approvals for the signalization would need to be in place prior to OGA review. James Barrett stated they would like to have things moved along as far as possible. Discussion ensued. DRA and CSG stated they would reach out to the Police Chief, as the traffic controller, to confirm the location of the proposed light. VI. Report from Downes: Jeff Anderson stated Downes would have a logistic plan for the Stanton and Greeneville sites the following Friday and would further develop plans after receiving the construction documents. Jeff Anderson stated at that time they would work on the construction document estimates in time for the Plan Completion Test date. VII. Consent Agenda: a. Invoices to be approved for payment Greeneville Elementary School CSG #23005-018 - $10,680.02 Downes –#G006 - $7,858.00 DRA – #23013.00 #11 - $181,095.55 Stanton Elementary School CSG – Invoice #23006-018 - $10,555.46 Downes – Invoice #S006 - $7,858.00 DRA – Invoice #23013.00 #11 - $168,424.67 Moriarty CSG – Invoice #23007-005 - $19,523.20 Mark Kulos made a motion to accept the consent agenda including the above invoices. Alderwoman Stacy Gould seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. IX. Executive Session as/if needed: Discussion regarding RFP and setting of interview schedule for architect finalists for Moriarty and Uncas schools as appropriate: Gregory Ballasi made a motion to enter executive session with the inclusion of staff, ex-officio members and consultants from CSG present at 7:38 PM. Sheila Hayes seconded. All voted in favor. The motion passed unanimously. The executive session ended at 8:53 PM. X. Discussion and schedule of Project Manager RFP for Uncas School: Alderwoman Stacy Gould made a motion to select DRA Incorporated as the architect for the Moriarty and Uncas Elementary School projects. Gregory Ballasi seconded. Chairman Mark Bettencourt, President Pro Tem Joe DeLucia, Alderwoman Stacy Gould, Gregory Ballassi, Mark Kulos and Cindy Beauregard voted in favor. Sheila Hayes voted in opposition. The motion passed. XI. Anything else to be brought before the committee: None. XII. Adjournment: Alderwoman Stacy Gould made a motion to adjourn at 9:o4 PM. Cindy Beauregard seconded. The chairman called the roll of members present and all were in favor. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Katherine Rose