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Committee hears construction progress, contingency changes and funding updates for new high school
Summary
District staff reported building progress, design approvals, change orders totaling roughly $109,000 in recent adjustments, a $1.3 million auditorium equipment change order outside the base bid, and a $3 million FEI grant that staff say will be reimbursed 100%. Track-and-field work is split into three packages with staggered design milestones.
District staff delivered a comprehensive construction and financial update on the new Central Falls high school and related projects, detailing design decisions, on-site progress, change orders and funding steps.
Erica (role not specified) described final interior renderings and a blue-red-gray color palette carried through corridors, the auditorium and media centers; staff said display casework and built-in monitors are included in the design. Presenters noted roughly 130 construction workers are on site and highlighted recent progress: sheetrock, glazing, HVAC ductwork and classroom fit-outs are underway.
On finances, staff reported one hard-cost change order of $100,000 applied from the construction contingency and a soft-cost change order of $9,000 for additional site survey work. They also described a pending auditorium equipment change order of about $1,300,000 that sits outside the project’s base bid as an alternate; staff said they hope to identify additional funding sources to cover that scope.
Staff noted the project received an additional $3,000,000 in FEI grant funding, and "Ryan" (named in transcript) confirmed to staff that those funds will be reimbursed at 100%, with no local match required, which staff characterized as positive for the contingency picture. Separately, staff reported an invoice reimbursement request (Invoice #19) for $4,265,104.80 covering recent builders’ and consultants’ invoices.
Track-and-field work has been divided into three packages to accelerate portions of the work: package one (concession building) was expected to reach 100% construction documents this month; package two (field and groundwork) was targeting 60% in mid-March and 90% in April for stormwater review; package three (retaining wall) was targeting 60% in April pending vendor proposals. A committee member asked that designers avoid turf infill that contains PFAS; staff agreed to work with the design team on that concern.
The district is also preparing an IT request for proposals and circulating a renewable-energy RFP that would make the building PV ready, allowing panels to be added later and for the energy savings to flow back to the owner, subject to market responses.
What happens next: Staff said they will continue contingency tracking as the auditorium change order is finalized, will advance the three track-and-field packages according to the stated schedule, issue the IT RFP this month, and pursue funding moves to address the auditorium equipment cost.
