Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Construction Referendum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
With referendum passed, Wethersfield board hears Highcrest timeline, design and maintenance planning
Summary
District officials outlined the next steps after last week's successful referendum: finalize state applications Oct. 1, begin a roughly year‑long design phase, run bid awards in 2026–27, and start construction in March 2027 with an anticipated opening in August 2028; district cited Connecticut Department of Administrative Services guidelines.
WETHERSFIELD — Following voter approval of a facilities referendum, district staff and a board member outlined a timeline for Highcrest and Webb school projects and emphasized early steps on design, procurement and long‑term maintenance planning.
Superintendent Whidbey told the board that applications for Highcrest and Webb "will be finalized for October 1 with the state of Connecticut," after which the town can solicit requests for services — design team, construction manager (CM) and program manager (PM) — in line with the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services school construction guidelines.
The timeline presented to the board sets a design phase beginning in January and running through the following December (about a year). The packet and comments list a bid and approval window from January 2026 through February 2027 and anticipate construction execution beginning in March 2027 with a projected completion and opening around August 2028. District staff cautioned that new building schedules can vary; the presentation said a new build can take 12–18 months on the construction schedule.
A board member who chairs the building committee said the committee is tentatively scheduling its first meeting for Oct. 8 and will begin discussing requests for qualifications (RFQs) for architecture, construction management and program management. That member also called for a transparent maintenance plan for all school buildings, noting community interest during the referendum in not only building new schools but ensuring long‑term upkeep of district facilities.
The presentation packet includes an itemized list of board and building committee responsibilities aligned with Connecticut Department of Administrative Services school construction requirements and identifies stakeholder engagement during design as an early priority. Board members and presenters said the design phase will include educational specifications, stakeholder engagement, schematic design and programming.
Superintendent Whidbey and board members stressed that some actions will require town or board approvals at later stages; they asked community members to follow building committee postings for meeting dates and engagement opportunities. No contract awards or firm selections were made at the meeting; the discussion focused on next steps and timelines now that the referendum passed.
