Wellington School Building Committee Minutes
WELLINGTON SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE
MINUTES
August 9, 2011
School Administration Building Conference Room
7:30 AM
Meeting #133
Committee Members Attending: Joe Barrell, John Bowe, Patricia Brusch, Laurie Graham, Mark Haley, Bill Lovallo, Lucy Pullen, Heidi Sawyer
Absent: Mary McHugh, Joel Mooney, Ike Papadopoulos, Eric Smith
Liaisons Attending: Amy Wagner, Ara Yogurtian
PMA - Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) Attending: Sean Burke, Chris Carroll, Kevin Nigro
Clerk of the Works: Domenic Ingegneri
Skanska: Dan Lanneville, Bill Endicott, Steve Eustis, Adam Maxcy
Design Team Consultants Attending:
Architect: Jonathan Levi, Jonathan Levi Associates (JLA)
Clerk: Chris Kochem
Guests: Janice Darias, Assistant Superintendent of Schools; Christine Kenney, Belmont Citizen-Herald
Mark Haley, Chair, called the meeting to order at 6:12 p.m.
Scheduling Update
Mark Haley welcomed the attendees and guests. He noted that Skanska has put together lists of tasks that need to be done by August 19, September 7 (start of school) and then beyond September 7 (after the start of school).
Dan Lanneville of Skanska then gave an overview of the project and why he believes the project will be finished so that the new Wellington School can open on September 7, 2011.
Mr. Lanneville noted the requirements that Skanska has to meet to open the building on September 7, 2011 - life safety, egress, fire alarm systems, stairs, elevator, walkways. Items of note are:
· the main stairs - the brackets for the stair rails are being installed – the stairs will be poured on August 10
· the fire alarm system has been programmed; the rest of the devices will be installed on August 15 and the pre-test will be on August 18
· the sprinkler system has been signed off by the fire department
· all concrete egress sidewalks will be poured by August 19
Mr. Lanneville's overview of the project:
· Rooftop Units (RTU's) - Mr. Lanneville noted that the RTU startup has been ongoing this past week. The testing agency will be coming out to the site on August 29-30 to certify RTU #3 that has been a concern and amend the label on that unit. The label is for maintenance of the unit – Aaon (manufacturer) has agreed that all maintenance can be done with the clearance that exists on the roof.
· Bathrooms - So as to comply with ADA/AAB in the bathrooms that were not designed to be in compliance, walls have been taken down and relocated. New walls have been put back up, sheet rocked, sanded, and will be painted on August 10. Ceilings will be done by the end of week and the epoxy flooring will be done this weekend. By Monday, August 15, fixtures will be installed in these bathrooms. Mr. Lanneville noted that a solution has been identified for AAB/ADA access for the bathroom by the community room.
· Window Shades and Screens - Brackets have been installed on the upper windows. They are now doing the lower windows; shades will arrive on August 22 and will be installed prior to school opening. Screen modifications – Skanska hopes to have this done by the opening of school. Mr. Haley wants to discuss this with Janice Darias and Amy Wagner.
· Finish and Mill Work - Finish pieces such as benches, display cases, and all of the light shelves remaining for the project will arrive on August 12 and will be installed during that weekend. More of the finish work including a lot of the mill work will be done after August 19 but prior to September 7. This is mostly finish panel work such as panels in the cafeteria and, around the stairs. The mill work company has stated that their last delivery will be on August 22.
· Seismic Joint - Skanska plans to wait to do the seismic joint between the wings and the core until the end so that the furniture deliveries can take place.
· Gym floor - Skanska will wait til later in August to install the floor because of the furniture deliveries. The contractor needs about one week to put the floor down and one week for it to dry. Overall, Skanska expects it to take less than two weeks.
· HVAC - The HVAC will be done on August 10 and then they will put in the ceiling tiles.
· Tasks for after September 7 - Mr. Lanneville said that, even though Skanska is trying to get everything done, if he is not sure a task will get done, then he has included that task on the "after September 7" list. Examples: the basement acid pit may be delayed; system training for HVAC will be done after school starts (per school system request); commissioning will be ongoing – the school will be using the cooling system at the start and some commissioning cannot be done til you do the heating changeover so the commissioning agent will have to return when the school is under a heating demand (likely in October).
· Electrical Fixtures - Mr. Lanneville said that a half dozen fixtures are still on order but there is enough light for all spaces to work. When the lights are delivered, those areas (two art rooms and the soffits in the media center) will be finalized.
· Glass and Glazing - Skanska expects to receive the mirrors for the bathrooms in time for September 7 but they may have to put in temporary mirrors if they do not receive them.
· Screen Modifications - The screen modifications for classrooms may not be done for start of school. They are looking at options for the screens in the art rooms and other locations that have deep counters which would restrict the operation of the screens.
· Carpentry - Skanska has a punch list of the light or heavy work. Mr. Lanneville expects the heavy work to be done but, with moving and FF&E installation, they expect to do the light work (spackle, touch up dents from moving, touch-up) after most of the moving activity has been completed.
· Screens for the Rooftop Units - While some parts of the screens for the RTU’s may not arrive until after September 7, work can begin on much of the roof screening prior to September 7.
· Locks for Teacher Wardrobes - Skanska has ordered the locks for the teacher wardrobes. They are still not sure when they will arrive but hope they will arrive before school starts.
· Rails for the Egress Stairs - The wood portion of the rails that go up the main portion of the egress stairs – Skanska has a plan to put up temporary rails if the rails from the millwork company do not arrive. However, Skanska believes that the rails will arrive in time.
· Grab bars for the ADA/AAB bathrooms - The grab bars that fold down need to be 42" long and are on order. The grab bar company was able to deliver 30" grab bars to be used until they send the 42" bars. The 30" bars will be acceptable for the TCO.
· Metal Walkoff Grates - The frames for the metal walkoff grates arrived today. They will be used for the mats at the ends of the wings and the two main entrances. The frames will be installed but the mats won’t arrive until after September 7 so temporary wood blocking will be used to infill the mat depressions along with commercial floor mats until the permanent mats are installed.
· Gym - Depending on the cure time for the gym floor, the bleachers may be installed after September 7. The bleachers are being stored in the Wellington parking lot.
· Landscaping of the Play Area on the Lower School Side of the Building - Mr. Lanneville said that the paved playground area on the lower school side of the building will have painted geometric shapes on it. However, these shapes cannot be painted on to the blacktop until four weeks after the paving is done. They will start paving on August 23 and it will take several days. Thus, the geometric shapes will not be able to be painted onto the lower school playground blacktop til late September.
· Playground and Metal Benches - Mr. Lanneville said that the some metal benches will be placed in the play equipment areas. The benches are ordered and they are tracking down the delivery potential. Today (August 9), they started the foundations for the playground equipment and poured the concrete bases.
· Artificial turf – expecting some time during the week of August 15; takes about 3 days to install it.
· CORI's for Work Done After September 7 - contractors or subcontractos will not be allowed in the building during school hours (likely not from 7 am to 6 pm.). Mr. Lanneville agreed to begin arranging for CORI’s to be done on the workers. He noted that Skanska will identify the task that needs to be done and notify the school department. Pat Brusch said that, if it is in the evening or the weekend, the school system will have to supply a custodian.
· School and Teachers' Boxes - the box move from the modulars to the new Wellington will take place on Monday, August 22. Teachers will be allowed access to their classrooms in the new Wellington on August 29. Mr. Lanneville will have the classrooms cleaned during the weekend of August 27-28.
· Labor Day weekend – Skanska will touch up the classrooms and do the heavy, final cleaning of the common spaces such as the corridors, the core, detailing the colored floor. Pat Brusch asked Mr. Lanneville to coordinate these tasks with Janice Darias and Amy Wagner.
· Kitchen – has to be inspected and approved, which is scheduled for August 15. Skanska will coordinate training on the equipment with the kitchen staff some time after August 19. Janice Darias will follow up with Paul Browne, the director.
· Curbing – it was noted that the driveway is set up for box truck deliveries only. The turn radius for the curbing was not designed to allow tractor trailers to make deliveries to the school. According to Mr. Levi, this was approved during design by Gerry Missal.
· Furniture Deliveries - Mr. Lanneville said that the FF&E team and the Skanska staff are working well together and that the furniture deliveries are going well.
· Preparing the remaining classrooms - the final classrooms will have their floors waxed on August 10 and then can put furniture in those rooms.
· School Street paving – they will do the base coat on August 10; final paving of the top coat is expected to take place around August 23.
· Fencing – will be done before school starts.
· Verizon strike - the Wellington School opening should not be affected by the Verizon strike.
· Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) - Ara Yogurtian, Building Inspector, Town of Belmont, was asked about the TCO and which week he would like to do the final inspections. Mr. Yogurtian said, by August 19, he is expecting all mandatory inspections to be complete prior to his inspection.
· Punch List - Heidi Sawyer asked about Mr. Lanneville about the punch list that Domenic Ingegneri (Clerk of the Works) has been gathering. Mr. Lanneville said that the contractors have begun working on this list.
· First Floor Windows - Sharp Edges - Heidi Sawyer said that she is concerned that the corner edges of the first floor windows are sharp and a possible danger to a child if a window is open and a child were to run into them. Ms. Sawyer asked if there is a rubber cap that is available for the windows but Mr. Lanneville said there is not. Mr. Lanneville said the crew plans to go around the entire first floor of the building and file the edges of all the first floor windows to make them less sharp.
Report from PMA (Owner's Project Manager)
Mr. Haley asked Kevin Nigro of PMA to present his opinion about whether the Skanska plan is realistic.
Mr. Nigro said the decision of whether to issue a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) will be up to the building inspector's interpretation of the building code and what the inspectors will sign off on. Mr. Nigro believes that Skanska is committed to completing the building and representatives of PMA see the action that is taking place. On the other hand, Mr. Nigro noted that Skanska currently has 90 items on the QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) list and the owner’s punch list. He said that Skanska does not have a schedule and they don’t have a recovery plan. Skanska does not have a verbal commitment of how the staffing will be done to do the work needed to be done. In Mr. Nigro's opinion, the quality control/quality assurance list will grow, due to the factor of a lot of people trying to work in a short period of time in very confined spaces, and that could lead to deficiencies of quality. He said it is up to the WBC as owners to decide what they will accept.
Mr. Nigro said that every code decision will put a big burden on the building inspectors as no two interpretations are ever the same (local authorities have jurisdiction over the inspection). He said that it could be a big interpretation for the fire department to say they have access to fight a fire and approve the TCO. He stated that, upon receipt of the TCO, the school will be giving up some rights because the TCO is saying that the building is ready for its intended use. He is concerned that the quality of air in the building is not adequate yet. He said that Skanska has had other target dates and they have not been met.
Mr. Nigro asked how all this work from Skanska is being paid for.
Jonathan Levi, the project architect, asked when the next possible move-in date, after September 7, would be. He was told by Laurie Graham, WBC Member and Chair of the School Committee, that it would be Columbus Day Weekend with the new school likely opening on Tuesday, October 11. Mr. Levi spoke of the advantages of opening the school on September 7. He said that he has a very different assessment than either Mr. Nigro of PMA and Mr. Ingegneri of where the construction stands to date. Generally speaking, the focus right now is in the classrooms and Mr. Levi finds the quality in the classrooms to be very high. Generally speaking, the classrooms are in good shape. He says that the defects are minor and the shades do still need to be installed. He is not alarmed by the QA/QC issues – they are not occupancy issues, they are aesthetic issues.
Mr. Levi noted that, in order to get the students into the building on September 7, there has to be some cooperation and there may need to be some work-arounds. If Mr. Yogurtian, Belmont Community Development, gives the TCO, the school can be occupied as there will be no safety issues. The question is how much inconvenience the WBC wants to accept in order to move in on September 7.
Mr. Levi went on to say that the issue that is most important is what is the risk if you announce that school will open on September 7 and then the school cannot open because Skanska does not complete the project as planned. Since the classrooms are ready, there should be work-arounds in every major area with the exception of life safety. The WBC should determine what would happen if the library, the core, and/or the cafeteria were not ready for September 7.
Mr. Levi noted that Ara Yogurtian (Building Inspector) has been intimately involved in the project so Mr. Yogurtian will be able to offer a well-informed opinion as to whether the building will be ready to be given a TCO. Mr. Levi also noted that Mr. Ingegneri has been creating a punch list and documenting it with a photographic record so that the construction team then knows what needs to be done.
Ara Yogurtian noted that each of the teams of engineers have to provide affidavits stating that the building meets the requirements of the design. The building must meet the minimum code requirements. He will check and confirm that the stair treads and risers are done properly. The fire department has to do its testing. If the play equipment is not complete and has not passed inspection, then it would need to be fenced off so that it cannot be used until it passes inspection. Mirrors for the bathrooms are not required so they do not have to be installed for the TCO. The Belmont Building Department can give some conditions – for example, the grab bars that are on order - the condition can state that the grab bar is 30" but must be changed to 42" within a specified number of days. Each condition will have its own time limit.
Mr. Yogurtian said that, if the building is not safe to occupy or if a section is not, they will do their best to work it out with the WBC so that it can be made it safe. The Building Department needs time to gather the documents and make sure that all is done properly. He said that this process must be done very carefully as the day that Glenn Clancy, Director of Community Development, signs the TCO, he is taking responsibility for the building. Mr. Clancy will likely walk the building with Mr. Yogurtian in advance of approving the TCO.
Joe Barrell asked how much time Mr. Yogurtian will need to review the affadavits. Mr. Yogurtian said that he would like two weeks but expects that he will be able to review them more quickly. He may add conditions to the TCO such as “affadavit provided, need to review”.
Mr. Barrell then asked what could delay the TCO. Mr. Yogurtian said that the Community Development office would not sign off on the TCO if there are any safety issues. If it’s possible, they will put conditions on the item. Mr. Yogurtian said that, as of this WBC meeting, he does not see anything major that would stop the issuance of the TCO, as long as inspections are done as planned.
Mr. Levi noted that the monumental stairs in the core are not required for egress. If necessary, these stairs could be blocked off.
Amy Wagner asked about the availability and accessibility of the bathrooms. The kindergarten/pre-school bathrooms have been expanded to 94" x 72" and now are all handicapped-accessible for pre-schoolers. The distance from the toilet to the wall is 11". The group bathrooms for the students have been adjusted so that the distance from the toilet to the wall is in compliance. Both the staff bathroom on the first floor that backs onto a LABBB bathroom and that LABBB bathroom will meet AAB/ADA requirements.
The staff bathroom on the second floor was not designed to meet AAB/ADA codes. Because of the elevator shaft, this bathroom cannot be changed. It is four inches too short of the minimum room criteria for the AAB/ABA code. Mr. Levi is determining if there are enough toilet fixtures in the building without counting the staff bathroom on the second floor. There is a question if the number of fixtures could prevent the school from opening. Mr. Yogurtian said this problem can be resolved.
Mr. Lanneville reported that the kitchen equipment vendor was onsite again today and set up the servery. The interconnection of the fire alarm, gas, etc. was tested and approved today. The hoods are on. The refrigeration of the walk-in refrigerators will be tested tomorrow. The gas inspector has tagged the gas for turn-on. The water is on; chlorination of the building was done on August 5.
Amy Wagner, Wellington School Principal, asked about the cafeteria and walking from one wing to the other via the core. Mr. Lanneville said that students will be able to walk from one wing to the other. He noted that the level of finish in the core corridor is really moving along. Plam beans are 75% complete and they installed the acrylic laylight today. Ms. Wagner noted that she is less worried about the library and the gym. Mr. Lanneville said that the gym will be able to be used. However, the bleachers might not be installed.
Janice Darias, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, said that the School Department's biggest concern is the safety of the students. Also, she does not want to report to the community that the building will open and then have to pull back. She is relying on the expertise of the building committee to be sure that they can safely open the new Wellington on September 7 and that the teachers will be comfortable and able to deliver instruction to the children beginning on that first day.
Laurie Graham, WBC member and Chair of the School Committee, noted that there were many delays in the process of moving out of the old Wellington to the modulars. She said that the School Committee needs to make its decision this week as to whether to open on September 7 or delay the opening.
Mr. Lanneville said that he understands the responsibility that the School Committee has to the community. He understands about the bus schedules and the importance of keeping to the planned date. He said that when he sits at this meeting and makes the commitment that the school will be ready to open, he knows he cannot say today that he will get the building done and then change his mind. He said that Skanska is committed to completing the building for September 7 and they will work as many hours as it takes to do this.
Janice Darias then asked if the school system is giving up any rights by accepting a TCO. There is a 5% retainage held to assure that the project is at substantial completion.
Pat Brusch said that she has a lot of confidence in Skanska as the contractor and believes that Skanska would admit if they could not meet the deadline. Bill Lovallo said that Skanska is in control of their contractors and they are getting the job done.
Amy Wagner noted that, if the core is not finished, there would still have to be a location for the administrative staff and the nurse. It was agreed that the core must be completed for occupancy.
Mr. Haley asked for a poll of the WBC members as to which date to recommend to the School Committee for opening the new Wellington whether to open the building on September 7. The poll was - September 7 - John Bowe, Pat Brusch, Mark Haley, Bill Lovallo; October 12 - Joe Barrell, Lucy Pullen, Heidi Sawyer; abstention - Laurie Graham.
Bill Lovallo made a motion that the WBC recommend to the School Committee that the new Wellington School open on September 7. John Bowe seconded the motion. The vote was four to three with one abstention.
Chris Carroll of PMA suggested that the public and town officials be made aware that the condition of the school will not be totally ready. Laurie Graham said that the School Committee will work with various media outlets in town to give this info to the community.
Joe Barrell noted that the CORI process for the Skanska contractors and subcontractors will need to be started with the superintendent’s office. Bill Lovallo asked Mr. Lanneville to put his plan to complete the project in writing so that it can be presented at the school committee’s meeting that is scheduled for August 10.
Lucy Pullen made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:03 p.m. The motion was seconded by Pat Brusch and unanimously approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Lucy Pullen
Secretary