Colegrove Park School Won't Be Ready for September OpeningBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
11:24PM / Monday, May 18, 2015 | |
 Much of the exterior work is completed on the west side with windows in. |
 Colegrove Park Elementary School will not be ready for a September opening. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Colegrove Park Elementary School will not open on the first day of school in September.
Construction delays have led the general contractor to put the "substantial completion" date of the $29.7 million project nearly a month later than scheduled.
The new Aug. 16 date will not give enough time for furnishings, finishings and classroom preparation for a Sept. 2 opening date.
"We are certain at this point in time that we will not be opening in September," Mayor Richard Alcombright told the School Building Committee on Monday. "We are not quite sure when it will be so we are still holding the contractor to the July 22 date.
"With that, we still reserve our right to impose penalties beyond that date."
An opening date still has to be determined because there are other factors, including furnishings, finishings and classroom preparation, that have to be taken into account.
"We're still waiting to see what that Aug. 16 date turns into in respect to actually putting people in the building," the mayor said.
Daniel Daisy, representing owner's project manager Strategic Building Solutions, said the August date should be confirmed within the next week or two.
It's not yet clear when the school will be able to open but the year will start along the new redistricting lines approved by the School Committee earlier this month.
Superintendent of Schools James Montepare said the redistricting will be in effect for September so children who will be going to Colegrove Park will start the year at Sullivan; once the new school opens, they will be ready to go.
Brayton Principal John Franzoni pointed out that the delay will affect some children now being served at Brayton, which is handicapped accessible and has more space.
"We're going to redistrict so it will be an issue," he said. "There are also programs that cannot move because Sullivan cannot handle them."
The mayor agreed that the general population will be at Sullivan when school starts and there will be some additional programming that will have to be fitted in.
Meanwhile, general contractor PDS Engineering & Construction Inc. is facing fines of $1,000 a day past the July 22 date, as spelled out in the contract.
Committee member Keith Bona questioned how the penalties worked and if there could ameliorating circumstances.
Daisy said late penalties built into contracts typically run from $1,000 to $3,000 a day, and it's up to the owner to decide whether to impose all or part of the penalties.
"Let's say it went over 30 days and that's $30,000 but that does not mean the contractor is going to pay $30,000. That can be challenged or litigated," the mayor said.
Officials have been pushing the contractor to make to make up time after the winter's weeks of frigid cold slowed down the extensive masonry repairs, which in turn limited the interior structural work.
Daisy said work is moving apace on the site now, with much of the south and eastern sides now covered in scaffolding. A view of what the school will look like when completed can be seen from the west side on Church Street.
"The masonry is really coming together," he said. "Not as fast as we'd like to see it, but it is getting done."
Interior work is also being completed with much of the third floor drywalled; windows are being trimmed and paint being applied. Metal studs and drywall are going up on the lower floors as space becomes available.
"We're finally seeing the finished product that makes the work worth it in the end," said Daisy. "Seeing wood trim and paint after all this is really fantastic."
The project's financials are continuing to track slightly below budget, including the changeovers, more than 90 percent of which have qualified for 80 percent reimbursement through the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
Margo Jones of Jones Whitsett Architects said 38 points had been submitted so far toward the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, designation. Those points are mostly for design work but the push is toward a goal of 69, nine points above the gold level.
"We're getting pretty close to goal," she said. "We're really pushing to get the design points done so we know what we need from the construction ones."
The committee is planning another tour of the school at the end of June. More photos have also been posted on the construction blog here.
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