Radnor facilities committee previews bid release for Ison Elementary, recommends early tree‑removal change order

Steve Behrens, an architect with Breslin Architecture, told the Radnor Township SD Facilities Committee on Oct. 14 that the design team will ask the school board next month to authorize release of construction documents for bidding for Ison Elementary School and to approve a change order to perform early tree removal at the site. "We are anticipating the authorization, to release the Ison Elementary School, construction documents for bidding," Behrens said.

Behrens said the second-round interviews for the architectural RFP are now scheduled for Nov. 10 and that the design team expects to bring a recommendation on tree‑removal pricing to the committee on Nov. 11 ahead of a full‑board vote in December. He described an accelerated procurement approach for the tree work, explaining the district invited the on‑site contractor to solicit competitive subcontract proposals rather than running a separate public bid for that scope. Behrens identified Manafort Brothers, a Connecticut‑headquartered site construction and demolition contractor, as the on‑site firm that performed the demolition and built the temporary playground.

On permitting, Behrens said the planning module approval was completed in mid‑September and that the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDS) permit documents are in a second technical review with the state Department of Environmental Protection. "On September 26, we received what they call the draft permit," he said. Behrens said the team expects a third technical review in early November and a final permit in early December; the permit timing will determine the district's release‑to‑bid date.

Behrens reviewed schedule milestones: bids would be evaluated in January, the board could award contracts in February and on‑site construction is targeted for early April of next year. He cautioned that holidays and review time affect timing but said the expedited tree‑removal approach was chosen to build schedule margin.

On cost, Behrens said recent updates to the construction estimate show hard costs increased while reductions in soft costs partially offset the change; the team has identified bid alternates that could be removed to lower initial bid costs without eliminating programmatic elements and emphasized lifecycle savings for some items. He also presented site photographs showing demolition progress and said the site is stabilized following house removals.

Design details discussed included exterior glazing, interior renderings and tiered retaining walls. When asked, Behrens said each tier is roughly "about 6 to 8 feet" and that guardrails or safety railings will be provided along upper pedestrian paths and the bus drop to protect edges.

Next steps: the facilities committee will preview the complete presentation for the full board at its November meeting; the full presentation and any authorizing action on document release and the tree‑removal change order are expected at the subsequent business meeting.

Note on transcript spellings: the project name appears in the transcript as "Ison" and also in other places with variant spellings (e.g., "Ithon"/"Aithon"). The article uses the name spoken by the presenter, "Ison Elementary School."