Date: Fri 18-Jul-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

construction-Hawley-NHS-ACMAT

Full Text:

School Building Projects: A Work Still In Progress

(with cuts)

BY DOROTHY EVANS

In some ways, a major construction project mirrors what happens in real life.

It takes surprisingly little time to tear something down, and a lot more time

to build something new in its place.

And no matter how carefully a project is planned and carried out, completion

schedules are always subject to change. In short, things happen.

These realities were brought home to Newtown Board of Education members at

their regular meeting July 8, as they heard reports on the progress of the

construction and renovation projects at Hawley School and at Newtown High

School.

It soon became clear that despite early delays in getting started, the $4

million Hawley addition and renovation project would probably come in on time

for school opening, Wednesday, September 3.

The $26 million high school project, much bigger in scope, will likely see

some delays in certain areas, and administrators are already looking at ways

to minimize the educational impact, where necessary.

Hawley Going Well

The Hawley project is now "in the final stages," said Mike Cifone,

representing the contractor, ACMAT.

The new addition is nearly completed except for dry wall, taping, installation

of tile, and lighting, he said.

Masonry and window replacement work at the core building is underway, and the

site work and parking lot paving work should be completed by the end of July,

he predicted.

"At the end of August we'll do a punch list," Mr Cifone said. A punch list is

a walk-through by the contractor and building inspector to note minor

last-minute items needing attention.

Hawley Principal Linda Siciliano was mainly concerned that staff be allowed to

enter the school as soon as possible before opening day, to enable them to get

their rooms ready.

Mr Cifone said that shouldn't be a problem, though Superintendent of Schools

John Reed voiced a concern that a thorough cleaning would be needed before

staff or students could reenter the building.

Apparently, a good deal of construction and demolition dust has entered the

interior environment and Dr Reed felt the contractor should pay to remove it,

since a drop cloth was not properly installed when a major wall was taken down

between the old building and the new addition.

"We need vacuums and wet mops," Dr Reed said.

Newtown Building and Site Commission Chairman Frank Krasnickas assured the

board that they would monitor the air inside the building before a certificate

of occupancy was issued.

High School Demolition Derby

At the high school, time tables for occupancy of certain spaces seem to be

slipping from earlier hoped-for estimates.

The fact is that by the end of the 1996-97 school year, only a little more

than half of the entire $26 million project had been completed - mainly in the

new addition at the north end.

Fully $9 million of interior work to the core building - involving a massive

amount of demolition to reconfigure the interior spaces - was still left to be

done. Of course, none of that work could begin while the students were still

in the building.

"All it is, is rubble," business manager John Torok said, describing the scene

in early July when he walked through the old school building and watched the

Bobcat tractors removing construction debris at a frantic rate.

When the demolition team had done its work, a cavernous space was opened up in

the second and main floors, where the walls and doors of the media center,

classrooms, main office, and cafeteria used to stand.

"This was an aggressive project to begin with. We knew that from the start,"

said George Graikoski, project manager for O & G Industries, which has been

overseeing both projects.

Disruption

Nearly a year since the high school project was begun late last August, a lot

has been accomplished, as any Newtown High student can attest who remembers

how the school looked at the end of last August.

Consider the shock of losing the entire north parking lot, the sight and noisy

presence of a seemingly non-stop parade of dump trucks hauling away the dirt

to excavate the construction hole for the new addition, and the view overhead

of exposed ceilings in the old building where new HVAC and infrastructure had

been installed in advance of construction.

Come opening day 1997, the high school scene will be quite different.

The entire project will still not be completed, according to Mr Graikoski, and

students, teachers, and administrators will, again, need to make adjustments.

"We have revised some of the completion dates," Mr Graikoski said, referring

to a flow chart he showed board members with time tables for various sections

of the project.

He mentioned contingency options and manpower issues that may become important

factors influencing completion dates.

In summary, this is what board members learned:

Most spaces in the new 74,000-square-foot addition will be available for use

on time, including classrooms, lab spaces, a lecture auditorium, and the

cafeteria and servery.

Spaces needing renovation in the core building will be ready as they are

completed, mostly beginning with the second floor and working down to the main

floor and basement levels.

Certain classrooms, such as art and music rehearsal spaces and the tech-ed

classroom, won't be available until November or even early December.

The culinary arts kitchen may be the last classroom to be completed, partly

because of the fire safety alarm system which can't be hooked up until all

other work on that level is done.

The locker room areas won't be done for a month after school opening, which

means no showers after gym in September.

Manpower An Issue

"We've got 170 workers on the site every day now, and we'd like to see 200,"

said Mr Graikoski, mentioning a manpower shortage in all the trades

experienced by the sub-contractors.

O & G Vice President Maurice Hoben said they were "calling in all their

chits," trying to get more workers on the job in order to move completion

dates forward as much as possible.

Newtown High Principal Bill Manfredonia had told O & G that completion of

second floor classrooms was a top priority, even if it meant that the media

center and main office areas were delayed.

Meanwhile, Mr Manfredonia said he expected that music classes could be held on

the auditorium stage, and art could take place in regular classrooms until the

new spaces were ready.

Band practice may have to happen outside.

Board members wanted to know why the contractors were just now reacting to the

manpower shortage, and why calls hadn't been made earlier to line up a

sufficient work force.

"You have to remember that the interior work on the core building didn't start

until June 17. We'd expect to see 20 men out there on a particular job and

only 12 would show up. Manpower is not a new problem," Mr Hoben said, adding

that one "problem" with the current healthy economy is full employment and no

workers waiting at home by the phone.