Latimer Lakes school project nears closeout; committee approves invoices and change orders after acoustics and HVAC testing

The Simsbury Public Building Committee on an unspecified Feb. meeting date approved a series of payments, a purchase order and several change orders for the Latimer Lakes school construction project after receiving test results showing most classrooms meet reverberation targets but some rooms have higher-than-desired background noise.

Consultants said most classrooms met the project's reverberation targets of 0.6 to 0.7 seconds, but tests found ambient background noise in some rooms between 40 and 45 decibels, above the 35-decibel target.

Justin Hopkins, Tekton Architects, said, "The target reverberation time is 0.6 seconds" for smaller classrooms and "0.7" for larger rooms and that "for most of the tests, we are at our target number, 0.6 to 0.7." He added that one unfurnished test room measured 0.8 seconds but that "once we outfit rooms, books, paper stuff hang on, to walls, we are meeting our target, RT times." Hopkins also described recommendations to add approximately 200 square feet of acoustical panels in a handful of rooms and said the cost will be similar to a previously encumbered change order of a little over $6,000.

On the ambient noise, Hopkins said, "We're higher, than what our targets are. We wanna be at 35 decibels. We're at between 40 and 45 in some of our classrooms. We think that that is achievable," and recommended coordinating with the mechanical engineer and reviewing testing-and-balancing reports.

Committee members voted to approve an invoice for 3 Way Communications (invoice 32079) in the amount of $2,062.50 for integration work on the district access-control system, and they approved Application for Payment No. 27 (OMG Industries) in the amount of $254,492.16.

The committee also approved multiple change orders and reconciliations. Individually discussed items that passed included PCO293R1 (sound-panel work) in the amount of $6,106, PCO336R2 (column covers) in the amount of $15,211 and a $2,451 allowance draw to move a row of bookcases to permit wall covering installation. The committee also approved a package motion to reconcile several credit and allowance adjustments (PCO343 through PCO350), which returned funds to the owner contingency in multiple line items; the committee recorded those as reconciliations rather than new outlays.

Committee members asked consultants to return with balancing reports and for CES (testing/balancing contractor) to attend the next meeting to explain airflow test results and potential remedies. No formal new schedule or additional budget request was made while the balancing analysis continues.

Votes at a glance: motion to approve the 3 Way Communications invoice (invoice 32079) passed; Application for Payment No. 27 (OMG Industries) passed (amount $254,492.16); PCO293R1 ($6,106) passed; PCO336R2 ($15,211) passed; POs and multiple reconciliations PCO343'PCO350 were approved as a package.

The committee signaled the project is moving toward closeout but said final commissioning and HVAC balancing must be resolved before the work is considered complete.

The committee will review balancing reports and expect follow-up from consultants at the next meeting.