Monthly Updates 2010-2012

Though there is no article on this year’s warrant, we wanted to give taxpaying residents an update on where the project is financially and our prognosis for the completion of the project.  
 

Originally, we had projected a total cost of $37,849,870 but given a reduced bid by the awarding general contractor, this was reduced to $32,588,714.  This included approximately $2.9 million in contingency funds, a “set aside” for change orders, unexpected costs and other unanticipated circumstances.
 

As of March 31 (our most recent reporting period), approximately 75% of the budget had been spent.    We have $1.6 million left in contingency funds, so we certainly won’t be going over the budget;  it is hard to know, however, what amount of contingency funds will be required for unforeseen conditions over the next four months. MSBA is up to date on reimbursements, so the Town is saving significant amounts in unneeded interest expense: as of March 31, we had received over $10 million from the state, having spent about $23.5 million. The average household will pay $291 in FY13, which is down from last year’s estimate of $364.

Project Status
 

As was reported in the paper, Phase I (the new building) was completed behind schedule, but the students have now been in there over two months and are loving it!  We were happy to  host an open house at the end of March for residents to walk through – photos will be showing before Town Meeting for those of you that missed it!
 

We’re now anxious to make up the time and ensure that students from all grades are able to arrive on the first day of the 2012-13 school year into the new school.  We still believe that will happen but it’s going to be tight.  The challenge of renovations is that when one finally opens the walls or even floors, there are unanticipated surprises and challenges to overcome, and we’ve had our share.  But the weather was extremely cooperative this spring (even raining just after the seeding was done!), so we’re hoping all goes well over these next several months.
 

Ribbon Cutting Celebration:  Save the date of Sunday, September 9^th for the Community Celebration of the new school.  It’s possible we may push this back into September, so stay tuned to the Stow Independent and/or our website, but as of now, that’s our plan!

The move in has occurred and the fourth and fifth graders will be entering the new building when they return from vacation on February 27.  The committee met with PJ Stella on February 1st and were assured that, "presuming no big surprises", the project will be substantially completed by July 1.  The ESBC with their project manager, CMS Inc. will continue to hold the contractor to this schedule.  Meanwhile the building looks pretty awesome and the community will be invited in soon to take a look.  Asbestos abatement has already begun in the "old" building and soon, demolition and reconstruction will begin.

Update January 24: We learned this afternoon that the Move-In date has had to change from this Friday to February 17, 2012 (school vacation): this was caused by a unanticipated problem in the rooftop HVAC units.  Teachers and staff were notified today.  We apologize to them and appreciate their patience, having had to repeatedly change their plans due to delays in construction--to the students, we thank them too for their patience and promise, the new school will be worth the wait!
 

Two pieces of great financial news this month.  First, we will received the first of two payments from the Intel Assabet Groundwater Recharge Fund in the amount of $200,000--this grant, largely written by Craig Martin (Stow Building Inspector, engineer and ESBC member), will offset the costs of a stormwater management system that is part of our LEED/CHPS rated building and has enormous impact on our watershed area, as it helps water stay on the site rather than run off into nearby streams and wetlands.  The final $100,000 will paid upon completition of the second phase of the system this spring.  Secondly, we are happy to report that the Mass School Building Authority has reimbursed the Town of Stow for more than 50% of the total grant.  We are also now in receipt of the adjusted contract, after our original bid came in nearly $5 million lower than our expected budget.  Below is a chart that highlights the changes.  The total cost of the project came down from the estimated nearly $38 million to $32.6 million.  Excluded from the MSBA reimbursement are such things as some site costs (they have a cap regardless of the specific nature of site issues, which in our case, are higher than average).  Of this $5 million, $300,00 was added to the excluded costs (this includes prior studies that were not fully reimbursed, but we still received more than we originally anticipated).  The Town's portion will be about $2.4 million

How does this savings impact residents?  You will not be getting a refund on your tax bill!  Why?  Because you actually haven't been charged for the whole cost of the project yet.  These costs will be spread out over 20 years or so; the good news is that total cost is now $2.4 million lower than we'd presented to Town Meeting for approval.  We are very grateful to the State for paying just over half the cost of our school, and believe we are getting an excellent value and an excellent school.  Current schedule of completion of Phase 1 (the new portion that includes both classrooms and the cafeteria, gym and library/media center) is now expected at the end of January.  The final completion/move in date is still set for this summer of 2012 and the new school year will find all of Stow's elementary school children in the new Center School!

As was reported in the Stow Independent, the project is behind schedule and we haven't hit the deadlines we had contracted for--luckily the weather is cooperating and things are moving ahead quickly--the 17th of January is the soonest we'll be moved into the new wing.  Meanwhile, with huge thanks to Jonathan Daisy, Kevin LaCoste, our school principal, leads us through a video tour of the school in progress.  View it by clicking on this link (or paste to your own browser):

We're getting close to the finish line for Phase I--new photos by Paul Trunfio (above and in slideshow) give a visual representation of just how close we are!  Classrooms have shelves, storage, sinks, and cubbies in place; the playground with its "crazy" flag is set, and there is a new parking lot off Hartley Road.  We're on schedule for the move of 4th and 5th graders over the December/Holiday break.  Phase II, the renovation of the current Center School will start in January.  We hope to have an open house for the community in late January-stay tuned to the Stow Independent for details.

Huge progress over the summer as the building has taken shape!  In spite of some crazy weather and very hot days, our Contractor PJ Stella has made up time and is doing extremely well on the timeline that will have us ready to move the 4th and 5th graders into the new "wing" after the holiday break in December.

We're seeing even more progress as the walls start taking shape; inside rooms are being framed and staircases are being added!  The beam which was signed back in March is now finally in place. To left is a rendering of what the memorial to the Stone Building will look like, on the side of what is now the gym, visible from Great Road.  It is never "too late" to change the plan, but it will be costly as we mentioned at Town Meeting, and it will delay the school construction.  See our slides from Annual Town Meeting above.  If people want the complete information, much of it is posted here.  There are real architectural issues to the integrity of this building.  If anyone has further questions, please contact us at the above emails or phone numbers.  We have had a lot of information available over the last two years and are happy to to redistribute this as requested.
 

As the weather has finally turned, the pace of the school building has increased.  The steel is up, with the final beam, the one signed by the children, put in place the first week of May.  That means the inside and structure of the building is really taking shape; on the outside one sees the beginning of walls.  Concrete has been poured on all levels, and masonry, electric and nearly all other subcontractors are actively onsite, installing the infrastructure of the building.  The Stella crew is working full days and frequent Saturdays to make up the pace, following the delays of the winter months.

The steel is nearly complete!  The community is invited to join the school children on Thursday, March 17th for the "Topping Off" ceremony: everyone will get a chance to sign the final beam before it is put into place.  The ceremony will be at 9am followed by the beam signing over the next couple of hours.  We're waiting for the specific topping off time based on weather and schedules.

The ESBC co-chairs met with the Board of Selectmen on March 8 to review the status of the project and to go over the financials of the project.  This meeting is currently running on Stow TV.  A brief presentation will be made at Annual Town Meeting in May.

The Center School Project looks a bit like a child’s sandbox.  Mountains of dirt have been excavated, boulders have been piled, and tree stumps have been moved to clear the site for vehicles to move freely.  It is now November and the new building is outlined by the foundation it will stand on, the infiltration system has been fully installed, and the fire road for access around the building is clearly marked.  We are on schedule, even with the rain, due to the flexibility of all involved to work on different areas of the schedule to keep the project moving. 
 

The weekly construction meetings among the contractor, architect and school building committee representatives have gone a long way to develop a working partnership.  We have worked hard to keep the lines of communication open, discuss issues perceived or real noticed by anyone and have addressed hard questions to the point of resolution on a regular basis.  Fortunately, the Town has a good contract, very good eyes on the project with our OPM staff: Paul Griffin, Neil Joyce, and Glenn Davis, and our architectural team is on site regularly to compare the drawings to the actual.
 

Election Day voters and parents heading to Hale Middle School have probably observed the most activity with the construction of the retaining wall that will hold and hide the leach field and septic system once it is fully constructed.  With the recent rains it has been a challenge with some starts and stops but it now seems to be growing daily.  This will be finished before the end of November so that work on the system will be done in the spring.  There is also a parking lot for the contractors and subcontractors in this area which is much needed during the project.
 

In two weeks citizens will be able to see the steel start forming the outline of the gymnasium and cafeteria and rather quickly, the new classroom wing will be erected.  Once this is done, the crews will begin to close in the building.  Despite what certainly will be cold weather by this time, the work will continue.
 

The students have been kept informed of what’s going on behind the safety fences with visits from Glenn Davis, the Project Manager Clerk of the Works.  He has shown them pictures of the work and explained what those noises are they hear during class.  For the most part the loud noises, stone crushing and blasting, are done.  The bus loop has begun to take shape and the location of what will be the permanent staff parking lot is showing signs of becoming a reality.