Madison board hears update on Neck River Elementary; FF&E, IT and playground packages head to procurement

The Madison Board of Selectmen received a detailed construction and procurement update on the new Neck River Elementary School on Nov. 12. Adam Levitas of Colliers, the project representative, said the building envelope and roof are in place and interior finishes will follow this winter, with owner-led procurements for fixtures, furniture and equipment (FF&E), IT, and playgrounds scheduled next.

Levitas said the owner-led packages — which separate loose furnishings and equipment from the construction manager’s scope — are being developed now so the town can procure exact items and coordinate installations during next summer’s move-in window. He told the board the combined budget for the owner-side packages was scoped at roughly $2.7 million and is now “trending at about $2.93 [million],” a rise he said is being managed within project contingencies.

Why it matters: the owner-led approach lets the district pick specific classroom furnishings, technology standards and inclusive playground equipment while the construction manager concentrates on the building shell and systems. Levitas said the school building committee and the Board of Education are expected to review and vote on those packages in late November or December; the state’s grant review would follow, after which procurement or contracting will begin.

Levitas described three core package groups: FF&E (classroom furniture and loose equipment), IT/network closets (access points, switches and cabling) and playground equipment (three playground areas with designs stressing inclusivity and safety fall heights). He said many classrooms and rooms are being reviewed at the room level so finishes and furniture meet program needs and special-education requirements.

The presentation included a procurement strategy for these packages. For many items the town intends to use state contract vehicles so it can obtain specific models at set prices; larger-value items that exceed state-contract thresholds will go to public bid. Levitas also noted that some IT installation and configuration work might be directed to the district’s preferred vendor for consistency and could require a bid waiver or solicitation that preserves standardization across sites.

Board members asked about schedule and budget controls. Levitas said the construction is slightly past the midpoint, with final envelope work concluding and interior MEP and finishes next, and that a summer move-in period is planned to allow staff and teachers to set up systems before school opens. He emphasized contingencies built into the budgets and that formal package approvals were not being requested at this meeting.

Next steps: Levitas said the project team will finalize package drawings and specifications this month so the School Building Committee and Board of Education can act; upon their approvals the town will take the packages to the state for grant review before procurement.