Greenwich Board OKs $6.28 million interim appropriation to lock in Old Greenwich School GMP

The Greenwich Board of Education on Jan. 5 unanimously approved an interim appropriation of $6,277,940 so the district can sign a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) to move the Old Greenwich School renovation into construction.

The action followed a presentation from James Waters, chair of the Old Greenwich Building Committee, who told the board the GMP delivered Dec. 23 demonstrates the district "would need, $6,277,940, to be able to sign the GMP." Waters and the project team outlined cost scenarios, alternates and remaining permitting steps, and said the permit is near complete pending input from the fire marshal.

Why it matters: Approving the interim appropriation clears a principal hurdle for the years-long renovation, enabling the district to award contracts and lock in current pricing. Waters told the board the committee has been working since 2018 on the project and that the preconstruction process is complete; the team expects to start construction in April if remaining approvals proceed.

Board members pressed the team on contingency levels and scope choices. Paul Capio said he worried a contingency could be misused, saying "a contingency can become a slush fund." Project representatives and the building committee defended the recommended contingency structure: Waters and the construction manager said the recommendation is a 7% owner contingency plus a 3% construction-manager contingency already included in the GMP, producing roughly a 10% aggregate cushion. Jeff Anderson of Downs noted the GMP reflects contract commitments to bidders and that much of the known cost has been addressed in the rebid.

The presentation also reviewed nine bid alternates — including exterior cornice repairs and a partial roof replacement — and the building committee’s recommendations to accept some alternates and decline others to manage budget risk. David Stein, the project architect, explained the cornice work affects about 350 linear feet but that teams "have not seen drastic signs of leaking" in classrooms or above windows and recommended treating that repair as an alternate tied to owner contingency rather than core scope.

Funding and next steps: Waters showed roughly $47.05 million approved to date for the project and said about $1.965 million of BOE capital funding remains conditioned by the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET); the building committee will ask the BET to lift the condition so the funds can be used toward the interim appropriation. Waters also said he has been in discussions with the RTM moderator about convening a special RTM meeting in February to act on remaining approvals.

The board’s roll-call vote approved the motion 8-0. The motion, as restated before the vote, was "authorize administration to request an interim appropriation for Old Greenwich School in the amount of $6,277,940." The board expects to present the interim request to the BET next week and pursue RTM action in February with an anticipated April construction start.

The board meeting adjourned after the vote.