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Council waives rules, allocates funds and awards design and management contracts for John Wallace Middle School project
Summary
The council unanimously created project expense lines, authorized allocations, and awarded contracts for the John Wallace Middle School renovation: Frier Architecture for design, Construction Solutions Group as owner's project manager and Newfield Construction as construction manager; design must be submitted to the state by Nov. 15 for grant compliance.
The Newington Town Council on Sept. 10 unanimously approved a sequence of motions to advance the John Wallace Middle School renovation so state grant deadlines could be met.
Councilors voted to waive rules and authorized the finance director to establish separate project expense lines so funds previously approved at referendum could be allocated among construction, contingency, legal/bonding expenses, FF&E, architect/engineering and project management. At the meeting the council also unanimously approved the architecture and engineering award to Frier Architecture Inc. based on a proposal dated Aug. 30, 2024, in the amount of $549,990.
The council approved the owner's project representative services award to Construction Solutions Group for $483,500 (the firm's proposal amount recorded in the resolution). Councilors also named Newfield Construction as the town's construction manager; contract amounts and payment terms for the construction manager were recorded in the meeting packet; council discussion emphasized the multi-phase schedule (pre-construction, construction and closeout) and the need to meet state submission and reimbursement timelines. Council members said they expect design documents to be submitted to the state by Nov. 15 so approvals and construction bidding can proceed toward a spring 2025 start.
Why it matters: The votes allocate referendum-approved funding and put procurement contracts in place that will guide design, oversight and construction for a major school renovation. Councilors emphasized schedule constraints tied to state grants and the need for strong owner’s-representative oversight through construction and closeout.
What's next: Staff will finalize contract documents and continue design work; the council will receive rough-order-of-magnitude cost estimates after MEP/structural/civil inputs are compiled and will track reimbursement rates from the state.
