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Board narrows roof replacement after bids near double original estimate
Summary
After bidders returned nearly $1 million for the Phase 2 roof replacement—well above an original ~$580–590,000 estimate—the Caledonia-Mumford school board heard presenters recommend focusing on the worst, leaking sections to maximize building-aid reimbursement and close the project by the end of August.
Caledonia-Mumford Central School District trustees heard a detailed update May 12 on the remaining Phase 2 capital-project roofing work and were urged to limit scope to the worst, actively failing sections after bids came in far above the district’s original estimate.
Presenters from Hunt Architects and Campus Construction said the full roof replacement bid returned “just short of a million dollars to do this whole roof,” and that material-price spikes (including petroleum-based roofing components and copper), extended lead times for mechanical parts, and added work to remove and re-set rooftop units drove the increase. Mike Ferrara, representing Campus Construction, said crews factored in weekend and overtime hours to ensure weather-dependent work completes this summer; he estimated that approach added “just by my math… 25 to 30% more money than we were talking about three weeks ago.”
The team recommended concentrating on a shaded section of the roof that testing identified as having wet insulation and on areas with known active leaks. Shannon Davis of the project team said addressing those problem areas now would preserve the district’s longer-term roof replacement plan while lowering near-term cost exposure.
District leaders also emphasized timing and aid considerations. Superintendent Dr. Rebecca Chanel told the board that the project must be closed out by the end of August to secure the first-year building aid and that delaying final work could jeopardize an estimated $600,000 in aid the district expects to receive. Project staff said the work is eligible for state building aid at roughly the low-to-mid 80s percentage range (their presentation noted it “fluctuates between 82 and 86”).
Board members pressed for specifics on the cost breakdown. Presenters said some bid line items were not included in the original conceptual estimate—raising the total—and that some of the contractor’s added hours were meant to cover potential downtime and weather-related delays. A presenter told the board the total dollar difference from the district’s budget estimate was “close to $400,000” as bids returned.
Given those numbers, project leaders proposed a targeted, invasive repair on the worst roof sections now (to extend life and limit future cost), leaving less-urgent sections for later phases tied to the district’s roof-replacement plan. The board authorized the superintendent to execute contracts for the capital project as listed in the meeting minutes; the minutes record a roofing contractor name and contract amounts, but some figures in the recorded transcript are garbled. The district will return to finalize scope and contracts consistent with available contingency funds and the need to meet the close-out deadline.
Next steps: staff will provide clearer line-item cost breakdowns and a recommended contract scope for board approval so the district can proceed in time to protect building-aid reimbursements.
