High school gym floor pulled up as district advances concrete repairs; topside bids come in higher, town assessing added culvert and FEMA mapping costs

Work is underway at Winchester High School to remove and replace the gymnasium floor, and the district reported progress and budget developments for related concrete repairs and broader town infrastructure projects.

Contractors were removing the old rubberized gym surface and underlying layers; a town memo and on‑site photos showed about half the floor already peeled up and heavy equipment on site. The district said engineers will perform a forensic review of the concrete slab once the floor is removed, and finishing/curing of a new floor will follow a multi‑step process to ensure long life and ease of maintenance.

Concrete repair bids and funding: The town opened bids for the Phase 2 work to address concrete deterioration (surface‑applied corrosion inhibitor/SACI and related topside repairs). The project was funded at $845,000 at last fall’s Town Meeting to cover both crawlspace work and design/engineering for topside work; the low bidder came in at $698,000, the district said. That left a gap on topside repair funding: capital planning recommended, and management approved, increasing an Article 16 request from $355,000 to $450,000 ahead of Spring Town Meeting to cover higher bids and market volatility.

“As the bids came in, we have about a $66,000 gap,” town official Chris Nixon said, noting market volatility and tariff‑related supply concerns that are pushing up bid prices. Nixon said the Capital Planning Committee unanimously recommended the increase to request additional funds at Spring Town Meeting.

Gym schedule and noise: District staff said the floor work is being conducted largely during the day. School activities have been relocated around the building to keep programs operating; early reports said the floor is expected to be ready for student use before the start of the next school year, although some equipment assembly and finishing work could extend into summer. The contractor and district also said the cutting equipment used to remove the floor produced little sustained noise and that site work has been managed to limit disruption to occupied learning spaces.

Morocco culvert and FEMA remapping: The town manager reported new conditions discovered in the Morocco culvert project increased the estimated cost by roughly $2.6 million and introduced permitting and scheduling changes. Work in the MBTA right‑of‑way and new lining/protection requirements lengthened the schedule and prompted the town to seek a Department of Revenue (DOR) determination on whether the additional cost would be excluded from Proposition 2½ debt limits. The manager said updated floodplain mapping with FEMA is also necessary after the culvert work and estimated a townwide FEMA remapping cost of $175,000; that request appears as a separate Article 16 motion for Spring Town Meeting.

What’s next: Town managers said they will seek DOR guidance on the culvert funding treatment and will bring articles and motions to Spring Town Meeting; they urged the School Committee to consider recommending favorable action on the capital articles when they appear on the warrant. The SACI crawlspace contract award was expected to proceed because the low bid fell within the previously funded $845,000 appropriation.

Ending: The gym floor work and concrete remediation are moving forward, with the district monitoring bids and contingency needs and the town preparing Spring Town Meeting articles to close identified gaps and to fund a FEMA remapping to update floodplain designations after culvert work is finished.