Norwich building committee: state review delays bid approval; committee OKs consent agenda

The Norwich Building Committee on Jan. 30 received updates on four school construction projects and approved the meeting minutes and a consent agenda of invoices while committee members warned that a slowed state review could delay the start of construction bidding.

Project-manager staff told the committee that the Office of Grants Administration (OGA) has accepted state payment request No. 6 and that the committee is now waiting for the state’s plan-completion review (PCR) letter that would authorize the city to go out to bid. "We're at that last step just waiting for them to give us the approval to go out to bid," a staff member said. Committee members were told state review timing—not missing materials—appears to be the main risk to the advertised schedule.

Why it matters: the OGA approval is the trigger that allows the city to advertise construction contracts. If the PCR letter is delayed the city cannot begin the bid and subcontract award process, which compresses procurement and could raise costs or require schedule trim during bidding.

Most important updates

State review and bidding: Staff explained the grant commitment and plan review process: receiving the grant commitment authorizes spending but does not allow advertising for construction until all statutorily required plans and documents are approved in the PCR. The committee was told that the state has recently consolidated reviews into a single meeting, which has backed up approvals. Staff said they have been regularly contacting the reviewer and coordinating with DRA and the city purchasing office to keep the project prioritized.

Parcels and MILR filing: For the Greenville site, staff reported that three parcels needed to be combined before MILR filings could be submitted. The committee was told quick-claim deeds were obtained from outside counsel and that those deeds must be recorded by the city clerk and a copy submitted to town treasurer Bob Buckley. A staff member said they will check with the treasurer and confirm recording "tomorrow." Until the parcels are recorded the MILR filings for Greenville cannot be completed.

Traffic control at Greenville: Traffic engineers and the local police chief reviewed a state pushback against installing a full traffic signal at the Boswell Street intersection. The state concluded the location did not meet warrants for a signal. The project team proposed a lower-cost alternative—three-way stop control with advanced warning flashers and a flashing red over the intersection—pending final sign-off from the chief and state reviewers. The team noted the alternate approach reduces unreimbursed cost by several hundred thousand dollars compared with full signalization; staff also said police could provide targeted enforcement during peak arrival/departure times.

Moriarty (CMR) procurement and schedule: The construction-manager-at-risk request for proposals (CMRFP) for Moriarty was issued and a nonmandatory pre-bid walkthrough was held; consultants and staff said three construction management teams attended. The committee was given a tentative schedule: CMR proposals due Feb. 6, a short-listing review the week of Feb. 18–20, and a special building-committee meeting set for Feb. 19 (7:30 p.m., Zoom) to review scoring results and establish the shortlist.

Site issues and investigations: Site surveys are complete for both Moriarty and the other projects; geotechnical work was delayed by weather but was targeted for early–mid February. A phase‑1 environmental report raised the possibility of contaminated soils (oil) at Stanton; the team said an allowance for remediation has been included in cost estimates and that remaining work can be handled with an allowance in the bid rather than a separate immediate remediation contract.

Network and phone infrastructure: Norwich Public Utilities (NPU) representative Mary Lou Richling said NPU and the school IT department are finalizing fiber requirements and bid specifications; she told the committee, "You will have it by Monday, Mike." NPU said it will provide conduit specifications and pull the fiber; the school will later procure switches and phones. The committee discussed vendor and sole-source constraints (Cisco switches were discussed as likely) and agreed procurement specs will be coordinated before bid advertising.

Construction logistics and allowances: The construction representative (Downs) said temporary utilities are mapped for job sites, deep-permit responsibilities will be included in site-work scopes, and long-lead equipment (for example, switchgear) will be managed in subcontractor scopes. Downs noted that estimates were updated to include some site remediation allowances but described those items as within expected ranges.

Votes and approvals

• Approval of Dec. 17 meeting minutes: Motion to approve by Stacy Gould; second by Mark Kullos. The motion carried; the transcript records abstentions (Bill Hall and committee member Christine D'Estazio recorded as abstaining or unable to vote). The chair announced the motion passed with the majority in favor.

• Consent agenda (invoices and replacement invoices as read into the record): Motion to approve by Stacy Gould; second by a committee member. The committee approved the consent agenda in a roll-call vote with the majority voting yes and one member absent from the meeting at the time of the vote. The invoices, as read, included consultant and contractor bills for Stanton, Greenville and Moriarty (sample entries read by staff included CSG, Downs, DRA and ERA invoice numbers and amounts; the full packet list and amounts were included in the meeting materials).

Other items

• Program budgets: Staff reported up-to-date expenditures: Stanton project extant charges reported at $2,686,896.11; Greenville reported at $2,690,079.12 extended against that project (amounts shown in the packet). Staff said subsequent state payments will fund the next payment request (payment request No. 7) once No. 6 posts.

• School identity, space and systems: Design staff reviewed schematic design progress for Moriarty and the other schools, including net-square-foot targets, HVAC approach (split systems/VRV), classroom ventilation rates, building identification elements (themes such as the monarch for Moriarty and cultural connections for the Unkus site) and options to construct while occupying existing buildings. Staff reiterated that, while the projects are important, existing school buildings can remain in operation if construction timing requires it.

• Technology procurement clarification: Staff warned that student and staff computers are ineligible for OGA reimbursement (movable IT devices are typically considered ineligible), while infrastructure—conduit, fiber and some fixed network servers or permanently installed infrastructure—can be eligible. The committee was asked to note that the district will need to fund computers from local budgets or grants rather than state construction reimbursement.

Next steps and meeting schedule

The committee set a special meeting (Zoom) for Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. to review and shortlist CMR proposals; the next regular committee meeting was scheduled for Feb. 25. Staff will follow up on the quick-claim-deed recording, the OGA PCR letter, the MILR filings, and the fiber-spec package from NPU due Monday.

Ending

Committee members closed the meeting after the consent agenda vote and the brief additional updates; staff said they will circulate the CMR evaluation materials in advance of the Feb. 19 special meeting and confirm outstanding administrative filings for Greenville and Stanton.