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Committee authorizes subcommittee to approve up to $150,000 to address unsuitable soils for Greenville retaining wall
Summary
Faced with unsuitable soils under a new modular-block retaining wall at the Greenville site, the committee authorized its subcommittee to approve a change order up to $150,000 so work can continue without delaying the schedule.
The Norwich School Building Committee authorized its subcommittee to approve a contract change order up to $150,000 to address unsuitable soils encountered at the Greenville retaining-wall location, enabling the contractor to continue wall construction without a special full-committee meeting.
Project staff reported that excavation for retaining Wall 1B revealed about 14 feet of unsuitable fill before reaching native bearing soil. The design firm SLR provided two engineering options for the site: (1) extend modular concrete block down to bearing soil, or (2) construct a poured-in-place concrete foundation wall below the visible block face and then install the block finish above that foundation. The committee was presented with staff pricing for both options; staff said those numbers were preliminary and under review.
CSG’s project representative and the design team said both engineering solutions would provide the required structural support. “Both solutions are gonna work,” the CSG representative said. The construction manager indicated the poured concrete option carried additional costs tied to formwork, placement and curing time; the modular-block option avoids some of that but required additional block materials.
Committee members expressed a desire for the design team’s preferred option, but also emphasized schedule risk if work paused awaiting a full-committee vote. To avoid schedule delay, the committee approved a motion delegating approval authority to the PCO (price-change-order) subcommittee for this single issue, with a not-to-exceed authorization of $150,000.
Motion and vote: the committee voted to authorize the subcommittee to make this approval up to $150,000. The motion was moved by Peter Gardiner and seconded by Greg (Chair); the motion passed unanimously.
Why it matters: the retaining-wall work is on the Greenville site critical path. A delay to evaluate remediation methods or to schedule a special meeting could have pushed back subsequent foundation and concrete work. The committee’s delegation keeps the work moving while allowing the subcommittee to finalize pricing and technical details.
What’s next: the PCO subcommittee will finalize review of the contractor’s proposals and report the chosen solution and final cost at the next full committee meeting.
