Elementary School Building Project Update

The Elementary School Building Committee met on March 14, 2025 and discussed progress on construction.

Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) Ksenia Slavsky shared photos of the progress on site. Foundations and footings have been installed despite the winter conditions. The southern end of the site is being prepared for the geothermal wells that will provide heating and cooling. The steel beams are expected to arrive in a few weeks, pushing the “topping off ceremony” (when the last beam is in place) out to early May, rather than March or April. While steel for the project had already been purchased before the tariffs, it is Canadian and must still pass through customs although the financial impact, if any, is unknown at this point. Slavsky noted, “Right now, there’s no news, no action item, no information, and nothing to be concerned about as yet, but we would not be surprised to hear something in a couple of weeks, and we will do our best to manage that situation and negotiate it when it comes.” She praised general contractor CTA Construction for” hitting all the correct milestones” and the DiNisco design team for the “unprecedented, at least in my experience, speed with which submittal reviews have been going through” to keep things running so well.

Slavsky reported that the “clerk of the works” is now on site full time and that construction is proceeding for ten hours a day during the week as well as a shorter day on Saturdays. Invoices included a retainer for a legal consulting firm to assist in pursuing grants through the Inflation Reduction Act for the photovoltaic arrays that will power the school. CTA Construction also billed for some of the change orders for winter construction that were added as a result of delays from the bid protest by Fontaine Brothers and J&J Construction.