Estimates for New Elementary School $2.5 Million Under Budget

Report on the Meeting of the Elementary School Building Committee, May 17, 2024

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded

Present
Cathy Schoen (Chair), Paul Bockelman, Rupert Roy-Clarke, Jennifer LaFountain, Ellisha Walker, Deb Leonard, Jonathan Salvon, Simone Cristofori, Angelica Bernal, Doug Slaughter

From Anser Associates: Margaret Wood and Kseniya Slavsky

From DiNisco Designs: Tim Cooper and Rick Rice

Estimated Costs Lower than Expected
The Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC) were pleased to learn that the two 90% estimates for the new elementary school to be built at Fort River were about $2.5 million less that the $98 million budgeted amount. Estimates for the building construction were obtained from A.M. Fogarty and PM&C firms. The estimates include the early site package, a bid which has already been accepted and work begun, and $1.5 million in design and escalation contingency. A request for bids is set to be posted on July 5 with a deadline of about August 7. 

Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) Margaret Wood of Anser said that the $2.5 million projected savings will be added to the contingency for the project. She noted that multiple individuals have reviewed the construction documents for their accuracy, including two structural engineers, a commissioning agent, Amherst Capital Projects Manager Bob Pareint, and ESBC architects Bruce Coldham and Jonathan Salvon. She praised DiNisco Designs for producing a complete set of documents. A paper copy of the comprehensive plans is available at Town Hall. The documents will be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for their review next.

Kseniya Slavsky emphasized that estimators are very conservative, and that she is pleased that some recent estimates for projects have come in under budget, most likely indicating an easing of factors that caused steeply escalating construction costs over the past few years. 

Committee Votes to Restore Some Elements Removed in Value Engineering
With the projected overall costs of the school coming in lower than expected, Cathy Schoen asked about restoring some of the items cut during the value engineering done in January 2023 to lower the cost of the project prior to the debt exclusion override last May. Specifically, she asked about the softball backstop (about $60,000) and tiling in the bathrooms, halls, and stairwells (about $100,000), which would be more durable and require less maintenance than painted drywall. Coldham also noted that much of the granite curbing was replaced with Cape Cod berm, an asphalt material (about $200,000).

A discussion centered around whether these items should be added to the construction documents or listed as an alternate choice. Designer Rick Rice recommended against listing them as alternates in bid documents, because of the complexity of the bidding laws that mandate accepting the first bid for an alternate plan submitted. He did not think adding the backstops and the tile to the designs would be complicated or costly, but there was more involved to changing only some of the curbing, so it was difficult to give a cost for that at this meeting.

Facilities Manager Rupert Roy-Clark said the town would need to add the softball backstop to the playing field at some time, and doing it during construction was probably the most efficient and least costly option. He also thought that adding tile in the bathrooms and stairwells was more important than in the hallways. He recommended replacing the asphalt curbs around the parking lot where they would be subject to damage from snow plows, but didn’t think the edging of the playground needed to be granite. 

Town Manager Paul Bockelman said that the backstops were his lowest priority to add to the construction documents. He also worried that  adding elements at the last minute would result in much higher bids, as happened in the Jones Library expansion project where many addenda  to the original bid documents contributed to a bid that far exceeded the estimates. He did not think that would be the case with the school, but he wanted to have a discussion and vote about the proposed additions.

Slavsky replied that if the committee was apprehensive about adding elements to the design, they could be listed as alternatives and dropped if bids are high, but Wood said the alternative items would probably cost more than if they were included in the base bid. Ellisha Walker stated that she did not think adding the backstop would jeopardize getting favorable bids and wanted to add them. Bockelman agreed on adding them to the bid now, rather than applying for funds from the Community Preservation Act or some other source in the future.

The committee voted unanimously with three absent to restore the softball backstop, additional tile in the bathrooms and stairwells, and granite curbing around the parking lot. Schoen abstained on the curb vote because of the uncertainty about the cost. The designers will change the construction documents to include those elements.

During public comment, Maria Kopicki said that, as a softball player, she appreciated the inclusion of the backstop in the plan. She also asked about how and when the MSBA will start to reimburse the town for the project. Toni Cunningham asked about when the additional solar canopies over the parking lot that are to be paid for with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds will be added to the plans. Schoen asked Wood to add the requested information to the minutes for the meeting.

Early Site Work on Track
Rice said that the aggregate piers that will provide extra stabilization of the ground under the building should be finished this week and then Gagliarducci Construction will begin to bring in fill to duplicate the weight of the building. This will result in an eight-foot mound of dirt meant to compress the soil under the foundation of the building. That dirt will eventually be spread over the site to raise and level it. The early phase of the site work is projected to be completed in another month, ahead of schedule.

The ESBA Sustainability committee will meet on May 28. The next meeting of the full committee will be in June.