Central Falls school building committee hears high school construction update, approves bills and minutes

At its first meeting of the new year, the Central Falls School Building Committee received updates on the new high school construction, furniture procurement, permitting for the track and field project and completion work on recent facility improvements. The committee also approved three bills presented in the packet and the Dec. 4 meeting minutes by voice vote before adjourning.

The committee chair moved to table formal approval of the Dec. 4 minutes early in the meeting because not all members who attended that meeting were present; the item was taken up and approved later in the session. "To ensure we have sufficient people to take a vote, we will table the approval of the meeting," the committee chair said at the start of the meeting.

Erica, the representative for the owner's project manager and architect team, said design coordination between AI3 and BRATE is ongoing and that finish-board and material selections will be presented to the district next week so final selections can be made. "That is something that we anticipate presenting out to the district next week, hopefully, in order to make final selections," Erica said.

Erica reported that purchase orders for furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) that went out to bid late last year were issued before the end of the calendar year to lock 2024 pricing. Construction work on the new high school is continuing through the holidays, she said, with exterior sheathing and weather barriers being installed alongside ongoing roofing work. The team also reported mechanical and electrical work, framing and HVAC work underway. Erica said a sub-slab depressurization system for radon mitigation is being installed on the first floor, and three stairs are in place. She estimated there may be "as many as 80 people on-site" on an average workday.

On budget and procurement, Erica said the project is holding to its current budget and contingencies with no new change orders posted since last month. She noted that some central change orders remain under review and that the project team will update the committee if and when those are finalized. The packet showed invoice submission number 17 for the high school at $2,975,953.60; the presentation listed that amount as covering the current draw and payments to consultants and subcontractors included in the packet.

Committee members were also briefed about permitting and design work for a separate track-and-field project. The team has submitted an environmental review in December and will await feedback from the Rhode Island environmental review team before submitting stormwater documents; that sequencing will drive the construction-document timeline and is why the construction-date column in the packet remains listed as TBD.

On revolving-fund financial items, the committee recorded a revolving-fund reimbursement request for $19,237 covering design work by AI3, Peregrine and Sage. The packet also listed a final closeout invoice of $57,255.50 tied to project closeout work and gym equipment purchases; the packet named Martone, Stephen Turner and Big First Sports in connection with that closeout invoice.

Eric, a project staff member, gave a closeout update on recent facility improvement projects (FEI). "FEI went great," Eric said, reporting that the cafeteria sound system has been completed, commissioned and turned over to the district and that earlier bathroom repairs were completed and reinstalled. He said there are no remaining open items for the FEI work. Committee members noted that the updated Calcutt Gym was used for the mayoral and city council inaugurations and that attendees praised the transformed space.

The committee scheduled recurring monthly meetings of the revolving-fund subcommittee going forward and said it will evaluate the FY26 priorities for that fund, including design work for the athletic complex.

Votes at a glance - Approval of three bills presented in the packet: motion moved; second by Rory (superintendent); approved by voice vote (all in favor; no opposed recorded). Specific bill identifiers and details were not specified in the meeting transcript or packet discussion. - Approval of meeting minutes from Dec. 4: motion moved by Carrie (committee member); second not specified in the record; approved by voice vote (all in favor; no opposed recorded). - Motion to adjourn: moved by Rory (superintendent), seconded by Carrie (committee member); approved by voice vote.

The meeting lasted approximately 14 minutes of recorded discussion before the committee adjourned. Committee members said the project team will return with updates on finish selections, any finalized change orders, and permitting feedback that will determine the track-and-field schedule.