North Kingstown subcommittee urges focused CIP priorities; tasks superintendent visioning

North Kingstown’s Building Advisory Subcommittee voted July 16 to recommend that the School Committee task the superintendent to prepare a 30-year infrastructure and teaching-and-learning vision that assumes one high school and two middle schools, and to direct the owner’s project manager to modify the district’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) list for submission to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).

The action followed a detailed update from project consultants from DBVW Architects and the Peregrine Group showing that near-term hard construction costs for roofs and major interior renovations across several elementary and middle schools are larger than previously expected.

Consultants told the subcommittee the roofing subcontractor estimate for the district’s portfolio is about $11,600,000 in current dollars and that a high-level estimate for substantial interior renovations at three elementary schools (Quinnesset, Stony Lane and Fishing Cove) is roughly $25,750,000. Michael Baveras, senior principal at DBVW Architects, said those figures do not include escalation, phasing premiums, or owner contingencies and cautioned the group: “We do think that spending a significant amount of money on them might not be money well spent.”

Using a high-level allowance for general conditions, overhead and a phasing premium, the presenters calculated a combined figure that, when compared with the district’s available RIDE hard-cost allocation, leaves limited funds for other priorities. Sam Bradner, project executive with Peregrine Group, summarized the math presented to the committee, noting the district has a finite RIDE allocation and that “the scope hoped for is probably more than can be achievable under the present funds.”

The consultants also reviewed code and accessibility issues uncovered during recent walkthroughs. Baveras said converting older ‘‘open classroom’’ plans into fully enclosed classrooms often requires stripping back to structure, addressing fire-rating and sprinkler requirements, providing compliant egress and enlarging restroom footprints to meet current accessibility codes. On roofs he told the committee, “The roofs clearly all need to be replaced.”

Committee members debated trade-offs between ‘‘warm, safe and dry’’ priorities (roofs, HVAC, safety) and educational upgrades (classroom configurations, media centers, gymnasiums). Several members urged immediate focus on roofing and on Davisville Middle School (DMS), which they said is certain to remain part of the district’s long-term school configuration. One member said the town should avoid ‘‘good money after bad’’ on buildings judged structurally tired.

Motions and votes: the subcommittee unanimously approved a recommendation that the School Committee be asked to task the superintendent to develop a 30-year infrastructure and teaching-and-learning vision that includes one high school and two middle schools. The group also unanimously approved a motion instructing the owner’s project manager (OPM) to modify the CIP list to reflect the new assessments developed by DBVW and Peregrine for the Stage 2 RIDE submission.

Next steps: consultants said cost estimates shown were order-of-magnitude and will be refined during estimating and phasing work; they emphasized the district must prioritize what to put into the Stage 2 submission (due in September) and noted further changes can be made during Stage 3 schematic design. The subcommittee scheduled follow-ups in early August to review updated estimates and a refined CIP list.

The meeting included public inquiry about federal energy incentives and a project update on Whitford/Woodford Middle School design and archaeological and historic reviews; Perkins Eastman summarized program and site work, including a preferred academic-wing orientation and issues tied to subsurface testing and geothermal well locations.