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Bedford outlines $4 million HVAC bond work, expects summer installs, extra costs
Summary
District maintenance staff briefed the School Board on completed FY25 work and confirmed a $4 million HVAC bond program with summer rooftop unit and boiler installs beginning June 16; officials warned of additional pending work, abatement and change‑order costs and recommended updated bid contingencies.
Bedford School District officials told the School Board on May 19 that most fiscal year 2025 capital projects are complete and that a $4,000,000 HVAC bond program will fund major equipment replacements at four schools this summer. Todd Zollman, the district’s director of maintenance, said the contractor schedule includes crane lifts and rooftop installs beginning June 16.
The bond covers HVAC work at Peter Woodbury, McKelvey, Memorial and Riddle Brook schools; Zollman said crews will replace rooftop ventilation units, unit ventilators and two boilers at Peter Woodbury, replace rooftop units at Memorial and Riddle Brook, and complete remaining work at McKelvey. "So fiscal 25, all projects are currently either complete. There's one outstanding project, the gymnasium bleacher replacement," Zollman said, listing completed FY25 items and the current summer scope.
Why it matters: the district is managing the bond alongside separate grants and operating‑budget repairs, and officials said actual construction bids and supply‑chain costs have raised estimates above earlier projections. Zollman and business administrator Lisa Ambrosio warned that abatement work, change orders and labor/material price increases will consume contingency funds.
Most important details: Zollman said the prior estimate that accompanied the bond had a 20% contingency, which staff now consider low given current market conditions; he noted bids received since 2022–2023 indicate added cost pressure. The district reported a New Hampshire Saves rebate approval of $10,000 for each of two boilers (a $20,000 total credit) and recorded a remaining bond balance of about $184,000 including that rebate. Zollman said some pending projects that were removed from the original bond could add roughly $2.5 million more work if later pursued, but figures are preliminary pending refreshed bids.
Construction logistics and timing: Zollman said equipment for Riddle Brook is staged in the upper parking lot and that the crane work is expected to last about two to two‑and‑a‑half weeks per building. When a board member asked, Zollman confirmed, "June 16" as the start date for the heavy lifts at Riddle Brook.
Constraints and next steps: Zollman told the board the district must coordinate staging and parking with the town’s Parks and Recreation department so community users of courts are not blocked during lifts. He also flagged an expected abatement process at Peter Woodbury that will draw contingency funds and noted a pending state or legislative change requiring a construction manager for significant projects, which would increase soft costs.
Board members asked staff to refresh bid estimates and fold pending items into the district’s long‑term Capital Expenditure Plan (CEP) for further review this summer. Zollman said he will update the board with refreshed contractor estimates and anticipated change orders before finalizing FY26 requests.
Ending: District staff recommended caution when packaging additional scope into bond warrants and said they will return to the board in August with updated numbers and a recommended sequence of projects for the next budget cycle.
