$5M grant eyed for EFHS improvements
School board members received an update on construction.
Elizabeth Forward School District will seek a $5 million Public School Facility Improvement Grant to be used for upgrades at the high school.
The PSFIG program, administered through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, provides grants to public school districts and area career and technical schools for eligible facility improvement projects. Funds can be used for roof repairs, heating, ventilation, boilers, plumbing systems, energy saving projects, emergencies, demolition, accessibility projects and more.
According to Superintendent Keith Konyk, this item was added to the committee of the whole agenda after it was published. It needed to be voted on as an addendum to the agenda, then adopted as a resolution. It received unanimous support.
“The purpose of this resolution is to allow the district to submit the school facilities improvement grant,” Konyk said. “Because we don’t have a meeting next week, it wouldn’t meet the deadline because our meeting is not next week, but in two weeks, we need to do it today.”
Also at the meeting, David Mc-Lean of McLean Architects, LLC and clerk of works for the district Dave Macioce gave an update of how things are going with Phase 1 and Phase 2 of construction.
There is a change order for the general contractor that’s up for a vote for the next meeting involving $229,755.88 and is in two parts, according to McLean.
As a result of architectural supplemental instruction, there is a section of the change order involving $89,738.88 increasing the amount of sidewalks and paving, which adds more curbs, asphalt and storm sewer work.
“Essentially in the beginning of the project, there was the hope that more of the paving and the existing sidewalk would be existing to remain and be in serviceable shape, but the condition of them, and the drainage improvements that need to be made, reset the elevations of some of those sidewalks,” McLean said. “So there is improvement to the overall site in terms of paving sidewalks and drainage.”
The other part of the change order, ASI 21 and $140,017, involves the gas company, which had the wrong location for their main line that comes along the road next to the school. It affected the placement of parking and grading in that area.
According to McLean, when it was determined that the gas line was closer to the building than what records have shown, then there was an adjustment that needed to be made. There is also a requirement for a retaining wall because excavating that area that way without the wall would expose that gas line.
“I think there was considerable effort to negotiate with the gas company to pay for them to move that line in the event that would be a savings overall, but they refused on the request for that,” Mc-Lean said. “So that line stays where it is, and we have to deal with it.”
The gym locker rooms and the surrounding area should be ready by the end of the month, according to Macioce, as lockers, PA systems, flooring and more are going in.
“The weather started to break a little bit. We are getting ready to start sidewalks and curbs, preparing for paving,” Macioce said. “The paver is tentatively scheduled for the end of the month, starting with the access routes coming up from Route 48.”
Macioce said the electrician is starting with the installation of a backup generator so the existing generator can be relocated and they can start Phase 2 of construction.
In the auditorium, Macioce said they are continuing with framing, drywall, entrance way construction, fire protecting and the first phases of window installation. They are also starting to get some asphalt down.
“The rigging for the stage is scheduled to start on the 15th of April,” Macioce said. “He was able to move us up, and he wasn’t able to schedule until June, but he had an opening. So we are kind of rearranging so we can get him in there earlier.”
They are also waiting on materials from the plumbing company for their utility relocations, and they will be able to get relocation of sanitary lines very soon.
For Phase 2, the initial phasing plan has been nailed down with Principal Kelli Garlow, according to Macioce, and they are still working on some details about how Phase 2 construction will be done.
“We’re in the final phases of putting together a master project schedule,” Macioce said. “There are some issues, obviously the weather, and we are trying to coordinate this summer work with the existing parking lot and shuffling people around.”
In other business:
• On March 25, which is the next regular board meeting, there will be an agenda item to approve the purchase of athletic training tables for the new trainers room at the high school in the amount of $8,754, along with two electronic display boards for the new high school gym lobby from Howard Technology Solutions in the amount of $72,243.
• A new comprehensive plan is up for readoption, as the 2023 one is almost up. The district will be sending out invitations to faculty and family members to be part of a team to get input from the community on some of the changes they would like for the district in the future.
