MINUTES

LITCHFIELD SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE

LITCHFIELD INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL LIBRARY

OCTOBER 6, 2005

A meeting of the Litchfield School Building Committee was held on Thursday, October 6, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. in the Litchfield Intermediate School Library.

Present were: Jack Healy, Chairman, Bob Blazek, Kent Gilyard, Bill Buckley, Stacie Kavle, Gary Waugh and Jeff Zullo.

Also Present: Leo Paul, First Selectman, Superintendent Dr. Vita; BOE Members Diane Knox, Wayne Shuhi and Don Falcetti; Tim Breslin, LHS Principal; Peg Perusse, Business Manager, Tim Callahan of HSN; Bruce Walpole of O & G; Cynthia Politano, Finance Director, Public and the Press.

Meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Jack Healy.

Approval of Minutes

Approval of minutes was table due lack of quorum from the previous meetings.

Communication

Gary Waugh – The BOE was pleased that the State’s approval allowed us to go out to bid.

Jack Healy – Bruce Walpole of O & G sent me a note about four of their projects that went to bid and are over budget.

Bob Blazek – Are we preparing for that increase? Are those schools going back to a Town referendum for more money?

Bruce Walpole – Its different for each Town. In Watertown they were short about $5M and are going back to a referendum for the money. We are going into a good bidding market. Contractors are hungry. We should get good coverage.

Bill Buckley – Bruce’s point is well taken, it is a good time to bid.

Jack Healy – We received a letter from SFU telling us they approved final plans.

Finance Subcommittee update

None

Public Participation

Betsy Glassman had questions about bids already awarded, questioned why BC has to wait to award bids and why the bid due date was the day after the election.

Mike Murray asked BC who runs the Technology Committee and why in the past few months there had been no report.

Architect Update

Tim Callahan handed out a Project Update.

Progress Report:

1. STC Approval - 09/20/2005

2. OSF Verbal Approval – 09/22/2005

3. Construction Documents and Specifications Finished on 9/23/2005

4. Alternates added to Construction Documents on 09/15/2005

5. Gymnasium revised – bleachers to accommodate 580 capacity.

Discussion

Gary Waugh – If we were to make changes – significant changes, does that involve resubmitting plans?

Tim Callahan – Changing occupancy of the space; Teacher Space to Resource Room for instance; they would allow that to happen without submitting a new plan. At this point we need to get back numbers and bids and evaluate the cost

Gary Waugh – The LIS Auditorium - what changes are being made?

Tim Callahan – That is all in the bid package; new stage, flooring, new rigging, curtain, electrical, etc. We have identified them as potential deduct alternates but they are currently in the plan.

Gary Waugh – Is that space sprinklered?

Tim Callahan – Yes.

Gary Waugh – Does that involve a new pump?

Tim Callahan – Yes.

Bill Buckley – If we change plans that impact the Ed Specs we would have to go back to the State. Can you give us a schedule relative to bidding?

Bruce Walpole – We finished bidding docs and sent to the printer. We’ll advertise in the newspapers and we sent out facsimiles to hundreds of contractors. We’ve gotten 50-60 of those back already and requests for drawings from the printer. We have sixteen (16) packages per project with an estimate of about 70-90 bids total. Contractors can submit a combination bid or bid on one or two packages. There is a pre-bid meeting on October 20, 2005 at 3:00 PM at LHS and 4:30 at LIS. Bids are due for both projects at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, November 11, 2005. There may be extensions, 3 – 4 days or a week at the most.

Bill Buckley – Is the pre-bid meeting mandatory?

Bruce Walpole – It is mandatory only for HVAC and Electrical. There are currently no bids in. All bids are received at the same time on the designated date. No bids have been submitted. We can not open bids until they are all in.

Bill Buckley – At the pre-bid meeting there will be many questions asked. As a result of those questions there will likely be addendums to the bid package and an extension of the bid due date.

Jeff Zullo – Who established the bid due date?

Bruce Walpole – Historically it is a five week bid period. We have to allow enough time to review plans.

Jeff Zullo – Did it have anything to do with the election?

Bruce Walpole – No.

Bill Buckley – So now we have a schedule that tells us we’re receiving bids on November 8, 2005. How long do you think it will be before we actually award bids?

Bruce Walpole – We will want to meet on Thursday the 10^TH and give the BC all bidders and pricing. For critical bids we ask BC to approve those bids contingent upon scope review.

Bill Buckley – Who actually signs the contract? Jack and Leo?

Bruce Walpole – Whoever you designate as signor.

Jack Healy – What we’ve been doing is I have been signing it and then Leo.

Bill Buckley – 1. Low Bid;

2. Recommendation and references;

3. Insurance certificate is received;

We as a committee would vote and authorize execution of contract.

Jack Healy – Are insurance limits worked out with the Town?

Jeff Zullo – Who does the insurance review?

Peg Perusse – Our Insurance Agent.

Jeff Zullo – Is it a fact that all contractors have to be pre-qualified with the State? Is that going to benefit us?

Bruce Walpole – No, its not. We are eliminating a lot of out-of-state contractors.

Gary Waugh – What do you do on a typical project to make sure you are going to deliver as close as possible based on the estimated budget?

Bruce Walpole – There are always ways to save money. Value engineering. There comes a point when you can’t do it and instead you have a redesign or go back for more funding.

Future Agenda Items

Groundbreaking on Friday, October 14, 2005 1:45 PM at LHS and 2:15 PM at LIS. Bruce Walpole is supplying twelve (12) shovels and hard hats.

Jeff Zullo – The technology budget are estimates rolled over from the previous project. An issue is capitalizing over a twenty (20) year period. Hard wiring and conduits are in the electrical budget. Technology is the last thing you put in. It is not a pressing item for the BC at this time. It is money that can possibly be used in other areas,

Motion to approve the minutes of the August 18, 2005 meeting with the following correction was made by Kent Gilyard and seconded by Stacie Kavle.

Motion to approve the minutes of the August 4, 2005 meeting was made by Jeff Zullo and seconded by Lynn Chapman.

Motion Approved. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.

Motion Carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.

Motion was made by Bill Buckley to adjourn at 8:15 PM, seconded by Kent Gilyard.

Motion Carried. All votes were in the affirmative. There were no abstentions.

Respectfully submitted,

Kelli L. Green, Recorder