Bristol Warren committee hears design, budget and water findings for high school project

At its Jan. 27 meeting, the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee heard a progress update on the regional high school building project from project manager PMA and architect Perkins Eastman, who reported design refinements, sustainability scoring progress and a recommendation to use municipal water for athletic-field irrigation after on-site well testing produced low yields.

The update matters because the project team said cost estimates reconciled to near the committee’s taxpayer-impact target and because a decision about municipal water versus on-site wells affects long-term operating costs, construction scope and risk for the district’s athletic fields.

Perkins Eastman designer Lisa said the design team completed reconciled cost estimates for the 60% design phase, finalized some construction-document details and increased the project’s CHIP score to 175 points after adding submetering and stormwater features following Rhode Island’s adoption of the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC 2024). "We were able to get our targeted chip point…up to 175. So that puts us in really good shape," Lisa said.

Architects said they added an accessible play structure to the Hugh Cole scope after earlier requests and that the project team will confirm with teachers that the selected unit meets the classroom- and program-level accessibility needs. A committee member asked the project team to verify that the chosen equipment provides the specific accessibility and sensory features teachers have long sought; the designers said they will follow up and identify the elements on the submitted panel for teachers.

Design staff also described toilet-room planning: the committee was told single-occupancy toilet rooms will be identified as gender neutral and that some single-occupancy rooms will be dedicated to staff while others will be available to students and spread throughout the building for more equal access.

On site utilities, the project team reported an on-site test well drilled near the lacrosse field reached roughly 600 feet and yielded about 3 gallons per minute. Walter, a PMA representative, summarized the finding: "The well that we developed at 600 feet yielded 3 gallons per minute." The team said an irrigation-only strategy would require an 80–85 gallons-per-minute well to avoid on-site storage tanks. The project’s irrigation consultant and cost analysts modeled several scenarios, including multiple smaller wells, and concluded the life-cycle cost and development risk favor municipal water for the life of the bond. The team noted that silty/filtration needs and uncertain yields add cost and implementation risk to on-site wells.

The update also covered compliance and site-work items at other schools in the district: Kickemuit Middle School (KMS) was reported to need a fire hydrant within 400 feet of the front door to meet NFPA requirements; project staff said they obtained hydrant-flow tests and will add the hydrant on the school’s east side. At Hugh Cole, the team said a failed attic dry-pipe sprinkler will be replaced.

On budget, the presenters said a 10-hour estimate reconciliation with estimators and engineers produced a construction cost estimate that is at or below the committee’s target, which the team identified as roughly $148,000,000 (the committee’s threshold to meet the agreed taxpayer impact is slightly below $150,000,000). The building committee compiled a list of bid alternates that would be priced and accepted in sequential order if base bids leave room in the budget; the project team recommended carrying one specified item as a separate procurement outside the general bid to avoid general-contractor markups.

Among recommended alternates is an audio/intercom upgrade for existing schools so their communications systems match the new high school system; the upgrade would cover Kikemuit, Hugh Cole, Rockwell and other district buildings and was described to the committee as an efficiency and safety improvement that could be added if budget allows.

Next steps the presenters listed include an expected RIDE (Rhode Island Department of Education) submission in the coming week, an RIDE check-in for the 60% construction documents, and planning-board hearings in Bristol and Warren in February. The project team said they will present the well-development and irrigation analysis to both planning boards and will continue refining construction documents and bid alternates before going to bid in March.

The committee approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

Minutes and additional documents the presenters referenced (60% design package, CHIP score reconciliation, well-development analysis, bid-alternate list and the draft historic report sent to HPHC) will be used in subsequent planning-board and RIDE reviews.