Walpole committee hears near-complete middle school update; approves baseball-field repairs and vendor invoices

The Walpole School Building Committee on Zoom heard an update showing the Walpole Middle School construction is nearing completion and voted to move forward with repairs to the varsity baseball infield and to approve the July vendor invoice package.

The construction update said the site contractor is fully demobilized and only exterior landscaping and site-furnishing tasks remain. “He is fully demobilized. We have some landscape site furnishing items to finish up once the, paving of the street is complete,” a construction representative said, noting the landscaper is expected back in the next two weeks pending the town’s paving schedule.

The committee was told the project’s punch list has been reduced from 10 exterior items to three, with work expected to be wrapped up by August or early September depending on paving and final sign-offs. A project representative said the design team must verify and formally close items in Procore, the project-tracking system: “We get to say it's done, and then somebody has to actually verify that it's done and done well enough.”

Why it matters: committee members said finishing exterior work and closing the project is needed so the town can obtain the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) final closeout reimbursement. The…