Haverford Township SD hears update on Chatham Park construction, contingency use and Coopertown lessons

Haverford Township School District officials and construction managers told the board at its Sept. 4 work session that the Chatham Park renovation opened for school this month and is nearing final completion, but that the project has used most of its contingency and still carries final pay applications and punch-list items.

The board heard from district staff and representatives of the construction and architectural teams that the project’s prime contracts — general construction, mechanical and electrical — originally totaled roughly $26 million with an initial contingency of about $1.5 million. As of the Sept. 4 presentation, pay applications and approved change orders indicate the project is about 94–96% complete, with roughly $1.2 million being retained pending punch-list verification and about $2.7 million remaining owed to contractors (including retainage). The project team said about $70,000 of contractor allowances remain and approximately $250,000 of additional change orders were under review.

The presentation noted some change orders were triggered by unforeseen existing conditions in the older building that were not shown in original documentation. Contractors and the district said lessons learned from Chatham Park were being incorporated into the Coopertown project’s documents and planning.

Board members pushed the construction team for clearer, consolidated figures showing the project’s final anticipated cost. Several trustees said slides in the packet were confusing because contingency usage and the total project estimate made the project appear to have leftover funds when the district in fact had reallocated bond dollars and transferred $400,000 from Coopertown to cover Chatham Park overages. Board members asked for future materials to include a projected final-range total and clearer labels (for example, distinguishing submitted pay applications from approved change orders and pending items).

Contractors described an active punch-list of classroom touch-ups and larger areas such as gym flooring that will require several more weeks to complete. Presenters said typical exterior site work (seeding, removal of construction fencing, cleanup) should be finished in roughly two weeks, and that the gym may require two to three more weeks plus additional weekend or second-shift completion, with final gym wrap-up projected in October. The district and construction manager said final “retainage” release will occur only after verification that all work is completed correctly.

Board members also asked about document retention and “as-built” drawings. Presenters said contractors will deliver digitized as-built drawings and full project documentation at project closeout; the district confirmed electronic and printed records are retained. Trustees recommended that future change-order recommendation memos explicitly categorize each change (owner request, unforeseen condition, omission, error, value added) so board members can see what drove each cost.

Directors asked for regular, standardized updates for Coopertown — proposed as quarterly or at least monthly summaries — and asked that the Coopertown contingency tracking include any transfers or reassignments of funds. The construction team said lessons learned from Chatham Park had been incorporated into Coopertown design documents and that Coopertown had better existing-condition documentation overall, which should reduce—but not eliminate—unforeseen conditions.

The district said final overrun numbers for Chatham Park were expected as contractors submit August pay applications and outstanding paperwork, with the hope of firm figures within the following four weeks. District staff also committed to providing clearer spreadsheets and photo updates for future work sessions so the public and board could track progress and costs.