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Facilities committee approves change orders, adds temporary classrooms as North Penn High renovation continues
Summary
The committee approved roughly $94,800 in change orders for Bid Pack 1, including five temporary classrooms and built-in locker locks, and approved an $86,844 set of Bid Pack 2 changes including rock removal and two practice football field goals. Staff said swing space and book-storage plans will limit classroom disruption.
Mister Slaughter, presenting to the committee, recommended approval of General Contractor change order number 7 for Bid Pack 1, totaling about $94,824.04 to address items uncovered during renovation work at North Penn High School. He listed PCO 34 — installation of a vestibule acoustical ceiling (about $1,569.01) — PCO 35 — construction of five temporary classrooms in the library area to provide swing space (about $83,223.03) — and PCO 36 — installation of built-in combination locks for Carter lockers in K Pod (about $10,032).
"This is an owner request to change in order for us to get back on schedule," Mister Slaughter said, explaining the temporary classrooms will allow students to be relocated while the IMC (library/learning commons) and adjacent pods are renovated. Committee members asked for detail on timing; Slaughter said the temporary rooms will remain until the IMC work for that phase is completed and that the five rooms plus repurposed storage areas keep the district at an even classroom count through next year.
Committee members pressed about IMC use and book access. Slaughter said the team will move roughly 6,000 books into long-term climate-controlled storage and keep about 10,000 available for circulation; assembly seating in the IMC will be reduced from about 20 tables to around five during the work. Librarians will select which boxes move first and the district developed a Dewey Decimal-based retrieval system so requested books can be returned within 24 hours.
On Bid Pack 2, Slaughter summarized multiple change orders totaling $86,844.34, including additional rock removal (PCO 18, $31,105.56 for work April 3–May 8), an owner-directed credit by avoiding an extra inlet structure (PCO 14, a $3,305.40 credit), and the addition of two practice football field goals not shown on the drawings (PCO 20, $59,000.44). "The foundations for a field goal are huge…roughly 10 by 10 across and about 8 feet deep," Slaughter said, accounting for much of that cost.
All change orders were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. Missus Ramach called each motion; Mister Kaiser made several motions with Mister Bell seconding.
The committee’s discussion repeatedly noted that allowances and contingencies are owner-controlled and that unused allowance funds will be deducted and returned to the general project budget as portions of bid packs close. Staff said CHA and Mister Lynch will track classroom counts and budget impacts as the project advances.
The committee was shown a construction progress video from Mister Gilmer highlighting demolition in A Pod, foundation and elevator-shaft work, stormwater infrastructure, K Pod first-floor renovations and transportation-building excavation. Slaughter said additional temporary classrooms in the library area are scheduled to begin construction around July 4.
The Facilities & Operations Committee will bring the recommended change orders forward to the full board action meeting on July 23 for board approval as part of the project’s procurement and construction timeline.
