Middletown committee recommends multiple subcontract awards, approves shelter upgrades for middle-high school

The Middletown School Building Committee on June 25 recommended awarding multiple subcontract packages for the elementary and middle-high school projects and approved alternates to upsize the middle-high school emergency generator and upgrade exterior windows to hurricane-rated curtain wall, work the committee said will be funded outside the project's $190,000,000 budget.

The committee moved forward a series of recommendation-to-award (RTA) items for the elementary school complex and several awards and authorizations for the middle-high school. The committee also approved ATP 003 to authorize alternate 7 (upsized generator) and alternate 8 (hurricane-rated curtain wall) for the middle-high school; the committee and design team said those alternates will be paid from grant or other state budget allocations rather than the project's $190,000,000 appropriation.

Why it matters: The approvals move construction buyout and mobilization forward by locking in subcontractors, add storm-resilience measures for the middle-high school to meet a higher shelter designation, and confirm funding sources for those specific alternates.

Votes at a glance

- Recommendation to award RTA-19 (acoustical ceilings, elementary school): award to Acoustic (bidder name in packet: Acoustic) in the amount of $164,642 with a $25,000 subcontractor allowance for removal/reinstallation of the ceiling grid; total RTA $189,642. Committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

- Recommendation to award RTA-21 (low voltage, elementary school): award to Synet in the amount of $188,000 with a $5,000 subcontractor allowance for the area-of-rescue; total RTA $193,000. Committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

- Recommendation to award RTA-7B (roofing, bridal high/middle-high): award to Patrick J. McKenna Roofing Inc. in the amount of $3,060,600. Committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

- Recommendation to award RTA-8C (interior glazing): award to JK Glass Company in the amount of $630,000. Committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

- Recommendation to award RTA-11B (gym equipment and bleachers): award to National Equipment and Facility Solutions in the amount of $1,068,500. Committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

- Recommendation to award RTA-01A2 (trailers): award to Will Scott in the amount of $42,696. Committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

- ATP-003 (middle-high school alternates): authorized alternate 7 to increase the emergency generator from 550 kW to 800 kW and alternate 8 to upgrade exterior windows to hurricane-rated curtain wall; recommended trade awards included Aladdin Electrical Company, Inc. for electrical scope ($326,308) and Danielson Glass Company for exterior storefront/curtain wall ($148,000). Committee approved ATP-003 by voice vote; the committee and presenters said the alternates will be funded outside the $190,000,000 project appropriation via state budget allocations/grant funding.

Details and context

Justin Milianti, an architect with HMFH, and Colliers project leaders presented the recommendation-to-award packages and answered questions about allowances, alternates and participation goals. Colliers and the construction manager Gilbane recommended the low-voltage, acoustical, roofing, glazing, gym equipment and trailer awards after bid review and scope checks.

For the acoustical package, a committee member asked that the previously described "owner allowance" be recorded as a subcontractor allowance; the motion was amended accordingly before approval. For the middle-high school generator and curtain wall alternates, the team explained the alternates respond to a recent state budget/legislation allocation tied to emergency management and shelter designation; the presenters said town staff's lobbying helped secure those funds for the project.

Several bidders were noted in the presentations (three bidders on roofing; six bidders on interior glazing; multiple bidders on other packages). In multiple packages the winning bid came in below the project's 60% construction-document budget; a few packages were reported above that benchmark. The design and owner's-rep teams said favorable results on several bid packages had produced over $1 million of additional owner allowance across the program at that point in the buyout process.

What the committee decided to do next

The committee approved the recommendations and asked staff and the design team to continue bid reviews, finalize subcontract agreements and track allowances and alternates in the project cost log. For the alternates funding outside the $190 million, the committee asked that the budget reporting clearly separate funds appropriation so the public can see which alternates are paid from outside sources.

Ending

All motions described above passed by voice vote; meeting records show the chair also voted aye on the motions. The committee scheduled further bid-review updates and alternate-trending reports for future meetings as buyout continues.