Needham committee reviews Emery Grover punch list, noise testing and multiple invoices

The Permanent Public Building Committee on March 10 discussed outstanding punch-list and warranty items at the Emery Grover building and approved a set of invoices and a change order tied to the project.

Committee Chair Richard Green opened the Emery Grover update by noting the materials provided this month included a punch list, warranty items and a list of items the Emery Grover staff requested. He said several items are weather-dependent and some cannot be completed until warmer weather. “I broke it up into actual punch list items, warranty items, and then added items that the staff over at Emery Grover has asked us for,” he said.

The committee was told the elevator fault had been resolved after replacement of a defective part. In response to a neighbor complaint about mechanical noise, staff reported the project’s acoustical consultant previously modeled sound at the property line and found predicted levels within the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection guidance (noted by staff as 10 decibels above the ambient, with the modeled threshold in this case near 40 decibels). Committee members said the town has no local noise ordinance, so DEP guidance governs. Staff said they had re-engaged the acoustical consultant to perform on-site testing; the committee agreed to schedule that testing for Thursday night with staff remotely switching equipment on and off to isolate the source.

The committee approved a small construction change order (M O'Connor Contracting, Change Order No. 22) for $3,989.25 from the general-contractor budget. The motion was made by the chair and seconded by Michael (last name not specified); the roll-call vote recorded seven ayes and no nays.

Separately, the committee approved a series of invoices tied to Emery Grover: a requisition to M O'Connor Contracting for $41,840.91 (services through February 2025, general-contractor budget); an architect invoice to BH+A for $1,954.84 (January 2025, architect budget); an FF&E invoice to Etrack Incorporated for a key cabinet for $7,949 (FF&E budget); and a commissioning-services invoice to EG Vanderweil Engineering for $1,786 (FF&E budget). The committee also approved two IT-related invoices (to be journaled by accounting into the project budget) for CCS computer hardware ($334 and $1,428) and two invoices to Harvard Network (journal entries of $4,495 and $5,495). All motions carried on roll-call votes with the committee voting aye.

Committee members asked for status updates on the third-floor AV setup; staff said Information Technology had placed purchase orders and that the project budget included approximately $209,000 for that work. The committee also discussed installation of security bollards and a hold-open wiring issue at a stairwell door; staff said they need to revisit wiring details with the contractor before purchase orders are issued for the bollards.

The committee recorded that staff will coordinate the acoustical testing schedule with the neighbors and the consultant and will return results to the committee when testing is complete.