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Shippensburg district parts of high school/middle school addition finished; punch list, stadium repairs remain
Summary
SiteLogic reported substantial completion of the high school and middle school additions on schedule and under budget, with a remaining punch list, landscaping and a water‑meter vault to finish. The district authorized a remaining track settlement payment contingent on contractor completion.
SiteLogic representatives told the Shippensburg Area School District Committee of the Whole that the high school and middle school additions reached substantial completion on Aug. 19 and remain on track for final completion by Sept. 30, with most remaining work confined to punch‑list items and site work.
Jason Herb, a SiteLogic project representative, said the contractor finished major work and is completing sidewalks, topsoil grading and seeding, bus loops and parking. He told the board the high school and middle school projects were “on time, under budget.” He reported a remaining contingency balance and said “there’s pretty good savings coming back to the school,” naming roughly $172,000 in remaining contingency and an approximate $60,000 in potential allowance savings identified during closeout discussions.
The district still needs to complete several items: installation of high school lockers (expected in early October), acoustic panels in music and band rooms, the high school secured vestibule (slated for completion within a week of Herb’s report) and final punch‑list work. Herb said Kleinfelder’s June invoice backup was recently received and that invoicing is otherwise up to date.
SiteLogic also gave a brief closeout report on a guaranteed energy‑savings project completed over two summers. Herb described HVAC upgrades including five dedicated outside‑air rooftop units with gas heat, 13 new rooftop units with gas heat, a 125‑ton chiller, updated automatic temperature controls, switchgear replacement and ceiling and lighting upgrades. Commissioning of equipment is underway and Herb said some air‑conditioning tuning will require returning in the next summer to test full cooling performance.
Board members raised a handful of outstanding concerns. Jim Bard asked whether the new detention basin at the middle school was designed as a retention basin and whether it needs a safety fence; Herb said he would consult the civil engineer and roof/utility contractors (K & W) to confirm fencing and final basin configuration. Herb said the district’s office will monitor guaranteed savings by comparing utility bills from before and after the project and that SiteLogic will provide ongoing reports.
The stadium project remains unresolved. SiteLogic said it had prepared and submitted a punch list, which the district forwarded to ECI (the stadium contractor). SiteLogic recommended that no additional payments be made to ECI until further progress is made; landscaping had been scheduled to start Sept. 22 but board members reported it had not begun.
At the district’s Planning and Action meeting the board approved a payment plan tied to track repairs: administration recommended, and the board approved, authorizing payment of the remaining $11,261 on a track settlement change order once ECI completes work to address a secondary deficient area at the site. The motion passed by roll call (tally recorded as 7 yes, 2 no). The administration said the payment will be made from the construction budget and that both the district solicitor and the design engineer support the action.
Board members also questioned sequencing and drawings related to a separate electrical conduit revision on a different construction change order. The district approved a $5,483 change order for conduit and wiring to pull T‑1; the administration said the conduit item was not shown on the original bid drawings but appeared on later revisions, and explained the district is reconciling responsibility while ensuring systems are brought to operational status.
Herb said one remaining site constraint is installing a school water‑meter vault; the work requires short water shutdowns and the team is coordinating dates that may fall on Columbus Day weekend or Thanksgiving to minimize disruption. He also noted the bus‑loop and parent drop‑off arrangements have markedly improved arrival and dismissal, a point several board members and parents praised during discussion.
The district’s facilities committee said most construction closeout issues will be handled from the construction budget and that savings identified in contingencies may be available for other capital projects under fund restrictions.
