Facilities director outlines prioritized capital projects; security camera change order and obsolete energy controls cited

Facilities director Scott Chaplin told the School Committee on Feb. 19 that the district has an active slate of capital work and that several projects require decisions and funding to proceed this year.

Chaplin said a value-engineered security camera upgrade for all 15 schools is underway but that onsite conditions prompted a change order of $960,326 for the entire project; he told the committee he expects that total change order to remain at that number. Chaplin said crews are seven schools into the wiring and camera install and that new fiber-optic wiring included in the change order could later be used by district IT.

Chaplin outlined priorities the facilities team worked with Superintendent Ware to assemble. He said priority one items include resurfacing the track at Chicopee Comprehensive High School and replacing the energy-management system at Chicopee Comp and Chicopee High; he described the current Honeywell system as obsolete and said 37 controllers in the Comp system are no longer functioning together reliably.

Chaplin listed other capital issues: air-handler replacements and MERV-13 filter upgrades at cafeterias and gyms, classroom PTAC/Univent units for Bellamy (installed and ready for phased in‑house installation), replacement exterior doors at nine buildings, electrical panel upgrades at Litwin and Bellamy, and a detention-area rebuild at one site where initial estimates of $1.6 million could increase once full site work is defined.

On the district bond account, Chaplin said the original $3.8 million authorization (from a prior vote) had an expenses draw of about $1.523 million and that available unspent bond funds were approximately $1.3 million. Chaplin said the district had requested funding for 14 capital projects and was approved for two; the remaining twelve projects still are under consideration with an estimated aggregate need of about $12.1 million.

Chaplin also reviewed recent items funded from ESSER and other programs: air-handler upgrades at Bellamy and Litwin gymnasiums and cafeterias with MERV-13 filtration, and security camera upgrades tied to a prior security audit. He said some ceiling work at Bellamy cost $49,244 (painting and new tiles) after opening ceilings to install equipment.

Committee members asked about specific playground replacements (Bowie, Scribe) and a Bellamy classroom air‑conditioning plan that Chaplin said the district would implement in-house where possible to reduce cost. Chaplin also summarized a facilities master plan effort and an MSBA post‑occupancy evaluation tied to ongoing capital strategy.