Holyoke school project near completion; temporary occupancy approved, ribbon cutting set

The Holyoke City School Building Committee heard on Tuesday that the new school building is largely finished, can open under a temporary certificate of occupancy and remains under budget, project staff said.

Committee members were told the contractor is completing punch-list work, systems have been started up and interior and exterior clean-up is nearly finished, and staff expect the building to be ready for teachers and students in time for the start of school. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 4:15 p.m., followed by public tours from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

The update matters because the project’s readiness and outstanding technical approvals determine whether the school can receive a full certificate of occupancy and open for students without delay. Committee members raised questions about final exterior work, safety-system testing and how remaining contingency funds can be used.

Chris, a project staff member, told the committee, “I don't have any updated photos. Josh, unfortunately, was on vacation the last few days, but I can give an update as to where we are with the project. As you know, school starting in the next week, the contractor's been finishing up, punch list, getting area C completed, starting up systems, and everything else that goes along with it.”

Chris said the paving is complete where required by the utility work but noted one short roadway from Chapin Street is currently half paved because the contractor was required only to repair the half of the road where utility installation occurred. He said finishing the rest of that street could be done by change order but had not been approved.

Margaret, a committee member, said she toured the school and praised the STEM classroom. “Kevin Burke, who is the teacher for the STEM class, was setting up all his equipment. And it's just absolutely about as engaging a classroom full of fantastic stuff as you could possibly imagine,” she said.

Sean, a staff member involved in site work, described clean-up and staging plans. “Anything that is left, like, leftover stuff, we're either gonna store it and bring it to the warehouse so we have it to make repairs, plus the attic stock. But anything I'm not allowing anything to stay there,” Sean said, adding that he had cleared plywood and other materials from the gym and cafeteria himself.

Connor, a finance staff member, presented a condensed budget comparison. He said the project’s committed-to-date costs remain below the original budget because of bid savings and unspent contingencies. “In all, we're about little over 10,000,000 under budget, with committed to date,” Connor said. He outlined budget categories including feasibility, construction, FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment), soft costs (architect and consultant contracts) and separate construction and soft-cost contingencies.

On approvals, Margaret said the building is openable under a temporary certificate of occupancy the building commissioner extended. “We can open the school under the temporary certificate of occupancy,” she said, and added staff are hopeful the full certificate will follow after additional testing of the fire alarm system.

The committee discussed the fire alarm system and how modern voice-announcement systems differ from older, louder horns. Margaret said the fire department accepted the system earlier but later asked follow-up questions about room-level sound and overall building voice communications; staff are arranging further discussion and a retest date has not been set. Jackie, a committee member, said she is coordinating emergency operations planning with police and fire and raised whether voice announcements could be provided in Spanish; staff agreed bilingual announcements were an important consideration.

Erin, a project liaison, said the ribbon-cutting will be outdoors at 4:15 p.m. with chairs provided and tours inside until 6:30 p.m. She encouraged committee members to invite colleagues and said appreciation T-shirts would be available through the superintendent's office.

Votes at a glance - Approval of previous meeting minutes — Motion reported as made by Anthony and seconded by Sean; members voted in favor (procedural approval recorded during the meeting). - Motion to adjourn — Motion made and seconded; in favor and meeting adjourned.

Next steps noted by the committee included scheduling the fire-department follow-up on the alarm system, deciding whether to issue a change order to finish paving the short roadway off Chapin Street, finalizing remaining FF&E change orders, and preparing for the ribbon-cutting and public tours.

The committee’s next regularly scheduled meetings are set for the second Thursday of each month, with September 11 and October 9 noted on the meeting calendar.