Bethel Park school project sees steel progress; board told $22,100 electrical revision will go to consent

Contractors told the Bethel Park School District Board on Jan. 14 that the new elementary school’s steel erection is advancing quickly and that crews expect to be able to “top off” the structure in late February, but cold weather and snow continue to delay concrete pours and decking work.

The construction presenter said elevator and stair framing is complete, most first-floor slab-on-grade concrete is poured, and decking and steel for the first floor are being set. He described a partially finished crawl space in “area E,” noted the need to brace a concrete wall with slab-on-deck before backfilling, and said crews have used heat tents so cold temperatures do not stop concrete work. The presenter also said crews are installing the main electrical conduit and that the conduit will be used for temporary power until the main feed is available.

The presentation included schedule context: the project reported about 250 days without a lost-time accident and the presenter said much of the remaining schedule recovery will come from setting steel quickly and, once the building is enclosed, the ability to double-shift crews and control interior conditions. Dr. Walsh (district staff) told the board the district will offer a beam-signing and topping-off ceremony in mid- to late February.

Why it matters: The timing and the cost of construction-phase changes affect the district’s ability to open the building on schedule and to budget for owner-responsible items. The board reviewed both field conditions and contractor requests for changes.

Electrical revision and change-order discussion

The board and staff discussed an electrical revision tied to changes in the nursing suite and other owner-requested hardware adjustments. Staff described the item as an architectural supplemental instruction (ASI) and said it has been tracked as ASI number 4. The presenter said nurses’ operational requests after reviewing drawings generated most of the work that yielded the change orders.

The transcript identifies a single line-item total of $22,100 for the electrical changes. Staff said they are negotiating credits and offsets with other trades and that owner-provided hardware meetings and ongoing “horse trading” with vendors could reduce the net cost. The presenter and board members repeatedly said they do not expect many additional design-change orders but acknowledged some owner-provided or owner-requested items remain under review.

Responsibility for overtime and schedule recovery

Board members asked who would bear overtime costs if crews double-shift to recover schedule. Staff and the presenter explained that contractors typically control their crews and thus their overtime decisions; contractors also own the end date and performance stipulations in the contract allow the district to assess penalties or require schedule recovery actions. Staff said negotiations over recovery-work costs are part of routine contracting and that some overtime or double-shifting could be chosen by the contractor to avoid liquidated damages.

Board action recorded in transcript

A board member recommended that the electrical revision and associated change-order item be moved to the consent agenda for approval. The transcript records the recommendation and the committee-level referral but does not record a formal roll-call vote on the item during the portion of the meeting provided.

What remains uncertain

Staff repeatedly cautioned the board that some change-order line items remain under pricing review and that credits from redundant hardware or trade offsets are being calculated. The transcript includes no final net-cost after credits and no formal board vote on the change order in the provided excerpt.

Ending

District staff and the contractor said they expect to enclose the building soon enough to allow more predictable interior work and potential schedule recovery. The board will consider the electrical revision as part of the consent agenda at a later point in the meeting process, per the recommendation recorded in the transcript.