Board of Education: Special Meeting on October 4 th , 2019

1. Board of Education: Special Meeting on October 4th , 2019 • Presenter: Tammy MacKay (Chair of FFT) • FFT Committee: Joe Faranetta (Vice President), Jeanne Stifelman and Alison Manfred • Other Board Members in Attendance: Ron Conti (President), Anne Standridge, and Rob Soni • Administration in Attendance: Jenn Fano, Gerry Eckert, Stephen Frost and Matt Pfouts • Architect: Greg Somjen

2. Original Concept • New Construction • 17,000 square feet • New Bathrooms/locker rooms/concession stand • Space for multi-purpose use • Projected spend of $8 million with an expected construction cost of $7,245,000 • October 2018: Voters Approved $24,495,000 Referendum • Collaboration with Stakeholders : Project Functionality and Scope Enhanced • Added 3,000 sq. ft to field house • Original design featured new fitness / multi-purpose room. Enhanced design (floor space and height) accommodated additional flexibility (i.e. basketball, volleyball, color guard, and other uses) during gym class and recreation use. • 500 to 800 sq. ft of additional general storage space was incorporated into the design • Moved position of Field House further into hillside to create plaza, improve access and egress, and maintain use of the track and field during construction

3. Bid Project • Based on project scope, we expected to receive construction bids in the range of $7 million - $8 million ($350 – $400 sq. ft. x 20,000) • 9/12/19 – 9 bids received • Bids ranged from $10.4 million - $11.9 million ($520 - $595 per sq. ft. x 20,000) • Cost per sq. ft. under low bid was 30% higher than expected upper range of cost per sq. ft. Board rejected all bids • Board/Admin/Architect began process of examining why bids were so high • Preliminary findings: • Steel costs were higher than expected due to detailing: rough estimate - couple of hundred thousand dollars • Blasting – higher than expected and includes cushion protecting them from “unknowns” • Project Detailing – roof overhangs, stonework, etc. – higher than expected • Timeline – completion date of Fall 2020 caused contractors to increase bid price

4. Options for Consideration • Rebid current package and hope for lower bids – award OR reject a second time, we could then begin negotiations – no savings • Maintain current project design but streamline detailing and convert construction from single bid to a series of specific construction projects to reduce cumulative project risk for bidders. Requires 4 weeks to prepare package for possible bidding. • Reduce scope and functionality of building (reduce height, space, and storage capacity). Design would need to be revised (new cost) and a new bid process opened. • Option 2 - Rescoping Ideas (Greg to discuss) • Blasting – pull out of bid separately • Localize disposal • Field House Demo – pull out and bid separately • Water Trenching – pull out of bid and engage Township • Streamline detailing

5. Financial Snapshot • Savings can be reallocated, used to purchase items for projects, or returned to taxpayers (estimate $100 per HH per $1MM saved – impact would be felt in 2023-2024)

6. Moving Forward - Direction to Architect • Board needs to provide direction to Architect • Specific Option or Approach • Reallocation of Referendum Project Savings • Update: Board of Education Agreed on the Following at the October 4th Meeting: • Bid the field house demo and blasting projects this fall and complete over the colder months • Bid the science rooms in Jan. 2020 • Bid the field house after bids from science rooms are awarded (later Jan. or Feb. 2020) • Board agreed to concept of reallocation of some/part of the referendum savings