North Penn updates high school construction, natatorium schedule and adds two capital items to 10‑year plan

District staff and CHA presented a progress update on the North Penn High School renovation (Phase 1) at the Facilities & Operations Committee meeting on July 28, reporting steady construction activity, active permit reviews, and several near‑term procurement and site milestones.

Mister Lynch of CHA, the district’s design/construction consultant, said the project has received preliminary approvals and that the design team has submitted final plans to the township: “We've got preliminary approval from the planning commission and the board of supervisors. A final set of plans has been submitted to the township. We've got a township engineer review letter that was received on the eighteenth. The design team is, responding to those issues.” Lynch told the committee the team expects to return to the planning commission for final approval on Aug. 4 and then to the board of supervisors for final action.

Lynch reported permitting activity and schedule items: “Phase 1 was approved, and then the larger permit has gone through its review. We got a review letter on the July 16 that the design team is responding to, and we're still hoping for a permit in hand by mid September.” He also said coordination with North Penn Water on water‑service work is underway and that meter‑pit installation is imminent.

Construction and procurement milestones discussed included: ongoing site work and regular construction meetings for Phase 1; anticipated issuance of a final addendum for Phase 2 bids, with bids due at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday of the week following the meeting; and the relocation of a propane tank pad, scheduled to be placed about Aug. 1 with relocation the week of Aug. 11. Lynch also noted a modest contract credit of just over $3,300 related to demolition of an AM radio tower.

On the natatorium schedule, project staff confirmed the pool HVAC (“pool pack”) delivery date was listed as Sept. 16; staff said that was confirmed in a biweekly meeting. Scaffolding in the natatorium was described in square footage during the meeting: “That, that area is 14 little over 14,000 square feet, so there's at least that much Wow. Scaffolding of flat areas,” a contractor representative (Mr. Wallner) reported when estimating scaffold coverage in the pool area.

Budget and contingency updates were presented: project contingency for K‑Pod and the natatorium was reported as approximately $1,100,000, up from roughly $800,000 at project start, a change staff attributed to negotiated permit fees and refined soft‑cost estimates.

Separately, district staff reported updates to the 10‑year capital plan. Mister Slaughter said two items will be added: installation of an intercom system at the Educational Services Center (ESC) estimated at $65,000 to address a lack of mass notification capability for staff, and masonry reattachment and caulking restoration on the most recent addition at York Avenue Elementary School with an estimated cost of $250,000. Slaughter described the ESC item as a life‑safety priority that the district expects to procure and complete within approximately four to six months.

During public comment, Jason Lanier of Lansdale questioned the district’s broader capital budgeting, citing numbers and asking how the district would finance higher totals: “We’re spending above that, and yet we have only so much money that we can raise projected by staying under act 1,” he said, and urged closer review of budget items. The committee did not take any additional capital actions at the meeting; the capital plan updates were presented for information and will appear in the next month’s updated 10‑year plan document.

Staff identified a number of near‑term next steps: respond to outstanding township and permit review comments, receive and evaluate Phase 2 bids, proceed with meter‑pit work and propane tank relocation, and advance the ESC intercom procurement. No formal committee votes were recorded on the informational construction update or the capital plan adjustments during the meeting.