Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Facilities Construction topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board hears detailed update on Keith Valley construction, HVAC issues and other capital projects
Summary
At the June 1 work session, district staff reported completion steps and several change-order requests for Keith Valley Middle School and other sites, described HVAC warranty work and gym-floor concerns, and recommended a high-school cafeteria air-handling replacement to be considered June 15.
Jamie Lynch, the district's CHA construction engineer, and Bill Stone, the district’s director of business affairs, told the Hatboro-Horsham School District Board on June 1 that the Keith Valley construction project is nearing closeout but still carries a handful of change orders and technical issues.
Lynch said Plymouth Environmental’s abatement contract is complete and that the contractor is returning $27,000 in unused material allowances, which Lynch characterized as producing a total savings to the district of “one hundred sixty-one thousand and thirty dollars.” He also noted a Burrell Construction change order for roughly $56,000 to cover punch-list finishes and related items.
The construction team reported an unexpected discovery while excavating the north end of the site: older buried debris that required remediation. Lynch said remediation and supplementary stone work reduced an initially high remediation estimate to about $32,000. Two recent contractor requests—$83,000 for on-site soil mixing and $118,000 for moving and raising fields—were presented to the board as informational items pending a contract review and a recommendation for how much the district should pay.
Lynch described several building- and equipment-level issues discovered during the project. He said the new gym floor has isolated “humps” in limited spots and that the district intends to issue a warranty claim to the general contractor and subcontractor so they can inspect the installation and report back in writing. On the rooftop HVAC units, Lynch reported multiple problems during construction and early operations: leaking coils that were replaced, cracked drain pans that required manufacturer repairs and, he said, “FlexSeal was used to make the repair.” The mixed-air sensors in the units were replaced at no cost to the district, Lynch said, and the district has issued a written warranty claim to contractors and equipment vendors to protect the district within warranty periods.
Stone updated trustees on other projects across the district. He said Simmons Elementary’s new exterior elevator shaft is poured, the elevator has been ordered for late July delivery, and the project remains on track for an opening before the 2026–27 school year. Simmons also began pool decommissioning in late May; Stone said contractors plan to fill the pool with stone and construct a slab in time for fall.
At the high school, structural engineers reviewed cracking in masonry and concluded there are no structural deficiencies that make the building unsafe; the recommendation is to install noninvasive crack monitors to detect any future movement and to report next steps. Lynch also said crews encountered multiple prior tennis-court surfaces during milling at the high school and estimated $75,000 to restore the surface, though he said that number could change once grading and stone volumes are finalized.
Stone recommended accelerating one capital project: replacing an air-handling unit that serves the high-school cafeteria. He shared the lowest bid from Johnson Controls through the Sourcewell cooperative at $132,177 and said the work would be funded from the capital reserve fund if the board approves the project at its June 15 legislative action meeting.
Board members asked about the warranty timeline for HVAC equipment (owner training occurred in August 2025, with a one-year contractor warranty to August 2026 and varying manufacturer warranties on individual components) and whether the problems experienced were typical. Lynch and Stone said the manufacturer and representatives have been responsive and will return for further repairs as needed. Several change orders remain under review; the presenters asked the board to treat those change-order amounts as informational until staff negotiates final contract positions.
The board did not take formal action on these items at the work session; multiple capital and change-order items were placed on the June 15 agenda for consideration.
