Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Construction Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District updates O'Block addition and middle‑school phase‑2 work; track costs raised
Summary
District project staff and HDG Architects reported foundation, drainage and vapor‑barrier work is complete at the O'Block addition; steel and framing are due imminently. Architects presented phase‑2 middle‑school scopes — roofs, secure vestibules, chiller replacement — and estimated a range of costs for a track surface upgrade.
Jade Mayer, the project manager working on the O'Block addition, told the Plum Borough School District board that contractors completed foundation footings, waterproofing and the stone subbase and that underground sanitary and storm piping “passed inspection by the county inspector” before concrete placement. He said steel is due on site this Friday and that framing of the addition could be substantially underway within two weeks.
“Project is tracking on time for turnover this summer,” Mayer said, noting site work turnover targeted for July with interior work to follow in August.
At the board’s request, HDG Architects summarized the district’s phase‑2 priorities at the middle school. Rob Renzi, principal at HDG, described a list of safety‑driven elements pulled from the district’s facility assessment, and he turned the floor over to project architect Randy Hunter for details on scope.
Hunter said the roof work is being bid with a clear base scope for the most critical yellow areas and alternates for other sections; the base work calls for full replacement down to the deck, new insulation and membrane. He also described a separate project to remove and regrade the corner of the track so the running surface no longer overlaps the football field and outlined main‑entrance improvements that create secure visitor vestibules and a separate waiting area for students.
“If a student is in the office and they need to be waiting for a meeting with a counselor, a meeting with the principal … they have their own separate space,” Hunter said, describing circulation changes to reduce mixing between visitors and students.
Hunter also flagged a chiller replacement as a separate procurement: “It is beyond the end of its useful life,” he said, urging the board to prioritize that equipment replacement because parts are increasingly scarce for older systems.
Board members pressed the architects on track‑surface options and costs. The team described several systems (base BSS 200 up to a BSS 300 assembly with urethane) and gave a ballpark drawn from recent district projects: a complete facility surfacing package that included event areas ran in another job “somewhere between $700,000 and $900,000,” while the more limited corner reconstruction to correct spacing and access had been estimated near $200,000.
Several board members asked staff to secure specific pricing and to investigate whether some elements might be procured via state contracts to reduce bidding complexity.
What happens next: staff said contractors will be under contract and more detailed bid results will be presented at the April meeting, when the board expects more complete numbers for authorization decisions.
