New London — The city is exploring the idea of constructing a $5 million school administrative office building as part of the $49 million middle school construction project.
But questions raised by the City Council about the proposal last week could delay the proposal.
Demolition of the existing Central Office building at 134 Williams St. and construction of new one has been talked about through the years but was never formally added to the design of the new magnet school that will replace Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School. As a result of recent discussions, the project manager is now pushing for swift action to approve funding to merge the two projects in anticipation of a reimbursement review by the state this summer.
The request for approval of the project was met with some hesitancy by the City Council, which debated what voters actually approved at a 2014 referendum when they agreed to spend $110 million for one magnet school and $55 million on another. It led to numerous questions and some concern about the cost of the project. The original costs for the two schools were estimated to be $98 million and $49 million with funds left over to cope with any cost overruns or changes.
The cost of the new administrative building can be absorbed into the $55 million approved by voters in 2014 for what is now a middle school project but will leave little left over for any unforseen expenses. Just how much would be left hinges in part on how much the state decides to reimburse the city.
That figure could range anywhere from 40 to 80 percent, costing the city between $1 million and $3 million. Most of the $165 million project is reimbursed at 80 percent though administrative offices are often reimbursed at 40 percent.
The council last week decided to postpone a vote on the plan until its next meeting on May 4. The council additionally tabled a vote on an additional $573,654 payment to middle school project architect Perkins Eastman for design of the new office building on an accelerated schedule.
Preliminary plans call for demolition of the 28,000-square-foot existing Central Office building and construction of a much smaller 8,300-square foot complex to replace it.
The middle school project is part of a $165 million school construction project that includes a $110 million construction and renovation of New London High School — originally a $98 million construction project — that has faced delays and risen in cost since it was first approved by voters at referendum in 2014.
Mayor Michael Passero said he never imagined the school district would move ahead with the middle school project without changes to Central Office considering the two are so intricately linked. The Central Office is connected to the middle school and serves as the school’s information technology hub. It also houses the fire pump for the fire suppression system for the entire complex.
Passero said he recently succeeded in convincing the state to include the projects together but did not secure a commitment on a reimbursement rate.
While frustrated with the progress of the construction projects and the fact that the Central Office was not part of the initial plan, Passero said the new plan was “best compromise that a lot of us could think of to get us out of this mess.”
“I never would have conceived we would spend $50 million and renovate only part of the (middle school) complex and leave it connected to an old building that we have no money, no plan, no resources to do anything with,” Passero said. “We’re going to be in the same situation we were in with the Martin Center.”
Councilor Curtis Goodwin also questioned why the new building wasn’t included in the original scope of the project and whether residents knew this was what they were approving when they went to the polls in 2014. He said opinions are likely to vary.
Councilor John Satti, who also serves as chairman of the building committee overseeing the construction projects, argued it was not what voters approved.
“In a 2014 vote, the residents of this great community voted to spend $55 million to reconstruct the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School. They did not vote to spend any monies to rebuild the Board of Education building. I believe this would be counter to what our citizenry voted on,” Satti said.
Charles Warrington, a representative from middle school project manager Colliers, warned that in addition to a delay in construction, the lack of council approval could lead to escalation of final costs. The so-called south campus project was expected to go to the state in August for approval to go to bid. A month's delay in approval could shift that timeline to October or November.
Warrington said an answer on the reimbursement rate is not likely to be known until the city approves paying for designs of the building and allows the state to review them. The design will determine the final cost.
The council voted 5-2 to table the approval of the changes with councilors James Burke and Alma Nartatez both calling for approval to move the project forward. Burke acknowledged a “messy history” and numerous changes to the scope of the construction projects but said replacement of the aging Central Office building made sense and would save money in the long run.
Passero agreed the construction projects, initially pitched as two schools housing grades 6-12, have drastically changed throughout the years of planning.
“But we still are building world class facilities for our school district,” Passero said.
The council expects the proposal to go back to the School Building and Maintenance Committee for further review before taking the matter up again at a May 4 meeting.
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New London explores $5 million addition to middle school project - theday.com
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