Bid packages approved for next phase of facilities work at PRES

By JEFF MORRIS 

The Board of Education approved soliciting bids for Phase 2A of the district bond project at its Jan. 28 meeting — but not before hearing a detailed explanation from Trustee Steven Matlin about the way elements of the facilities project are being sequenced and prioritized.

Matlin reported on what had been discussed in a lengthy conversation at the previous day’s construction committee meeting. He said there are four phases left to build out from the entire $62 million bond project. The first of these, already out to bid, is the maintenance building that is on the middle school campus.

According to Matlin, the district’s construction manager, Arris Contracting, recommended that the next to go out to bid be Pound Ridge Elementary School mechanical work. That bid package includes removing and replacing two existing cast iron boilers and removing a third boiler not in use; replacing two electric space heaters and connecting new cabinet heaters to the existing hot water system; removing and replacing the existing gym air handler system; upgrading the exhaust systems in the art room; providing and installing ventilation system to room 47/48; and provide and install a purge fan and ventilation at the garage space on the lower level.

Matlin said bidding the PRES mechanical package ahead of interior work and ADA compliance work at the elementary schools was recommended by Arris because every other building but PRES has received mechanical work; the two boilers to be replaced are 40 years old, and this work can be done starting in May, when they are no longer required to have boilers and will most likely not need them.

“That makes it more attractive for parties to bid on versus the summer time, when everybody’s busy,” Matlin said. “The feeling was we would get potentially a better bid.”

The next package would be elementary school Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and exterior work. That, said Matlin, is a single contractor bid, and to qualify, the total bid package must come in under $1.5 million. Work is to be done at Mount Kisco, Bedford Village, Bedford Hills and Pound Ridge elementary schools, with the most work at BVES and PRES.

The last package is elementary school interior work, almost all of which will be done at Bedford Village and West Patent, with one item at PRES. 

“It’s not attractive work for the contractors,” said Matlin, “but if we can do it the way they’ve proposed it, and you get smaller contractors who would be interested in their specialty and we can fill the timing when they’re available, then it becomes more attractive to the potential bidder.”

Matlin said they are not required to accept the bids, and if they come in considerably higher than expected they will have to have a discussion about what to do.

The most important part of the discussion, said Matlin, is that they have $341,000 remaining to cover change orders, anything that’s left, abatement, and some bit of overage. The committee has had multiple requests to make some changes, he said, but Arris “wants us to protect that $341,000, barring something that is critical or a safety issue.” 

He said to the extent that the requests involve added cost, the likelihood is the recommendation of the committee will be to say no. Matlin asked if the board had any disagreement with the committee’s recommendation to protect the remaining money. “They don’t want us to be in a position where we spend some of it now, and we then run out of money to complete this list of projects,” he said.

Board President Gilian Klein said her focus was to complete the most important work first. She was concerned that the items on the last two lists had some ADA-compliance mixed in with non ADA-compliance, and she wanted to ensure the ADA compliance items were finished before there was any chance of depleting the funds.

Trustee Betsy Sharma, who is also on the construction committee, said one of the reasons the items are bundled the way they are is that they involve the same specialties that can be performed by a single contractor.

Matlin said according to Arris, Bedford Central is in the same position — and actually in a better position — than most other districts doing projects of this type.

“When you get to the end of the project, this is what happens. You have to watch every last penny,” he said, but, “they reassured us that based on their numbers, we should be able to complete this.”

The board voted to accept the bid packages in the order presented.