North Penn High School construction nears turnover; NPDES permit received, pool inspection pending

Construction managers told the Facilities & Operations Committee that work at North Penn High School is advancing toward near‑term turnover of the Third Floor K‑Pod and the natatorium.

In the meeting Mr. Lynch of CHA reported that the township board of supervisors has granted final approval for the project and that the district recently received the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit. Lynch said the district is finalizing land‑development agreements and recording documents with the county recorder of deeds; receipt of that electronic recording is required before the conservation district will schedule the preconstruction conference that allows certain site work to begin.

Mr. Gilmore opened the construction portion of the meeting with a video showing finishing work: casework installed in classrooms, masonry restoration, ground and finish work on classroom floors, operable windows and lighting controls in K‑Pod, and substantial progress in the natatorium including waterproofing, pool‑deck tile setting and connection of vertical pumps, fail‑safe valves and the pool water heater. He noted the pool bulkhead is scheduled to arrive in mid‑November.

On schedule, staff said that if finishing and cleaning proceed as planned, teachers should be able to move into the Third Floor classrooms after the Thanksgiving break (the district target referenced was Dec. 1). Lynch said the Department of Health inspection and a building inspector for occupancy are required before the natatorium can open; staff are coordinating scheduling, mindful of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Safety and site issues were raised. Lynch said the pool contractor has needed repeated reminders to use proper PPE; the committee discussed establishing a threshold policy for repeated safety noncompliance and asked staff to consider a formal threshold for removal from site. Lynch reported one incident in the past month in which a generator strap failed on a forklift and the generator fell onto a security fence and damaged a bench; there were no injuries.

Staff also reviewed bid‑package sequencing: bid package 1 (natatorium and Third Floor) moves toward its November deadline; bid package 2 is expected to start in November with site clearing and staging; bid package 3 renovation documents reached a 75% milestone and are being costed; bid package 4 is primarily late‑stage site work requiring an amendment to the NPDES permit. Transportation‑building contracting through Gordian and SJ Thomas is advancing. The team reported standard submittal and RFI processing and said contingencies remain in place.