BETHLEHEM AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
BOARD FACILITIES COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2007
Mr. Rosario Amato, chairman, called the meeting of the Board Facilities Committee to order at 7:10 p.m. on Monday, March 5, 2007, in the Dining Room at the Education Center. Present were School Board Members Charlene Koch, Diane Rowe, Dr. Craig Haytmanek, Loretta Leeson, Judith Dexter, Joseph Craig, and Rosario Amato. Also present were Dr. Joseph A. Lewis, superintendent of schools, Robert R. Gross III, assistant superintendent for human resources; Anthony R. Villani, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction; Thomas K. Washington, director of student services; Robin L. Lutcher, director of information technologies; Scott T. Gilliland, director of facilities and operations; Richard T. Agretto, director of special education; Arif Fazil, district engineer (DÕHuy Engineering, Inc.); Robert Furst, principal architect, Architecture Furst; Michael Spadafora, project manager (DÕHuy Engineering, Inc.); and representatives from the press.
Dr. Craig Haytmanek and Dr. Joseph A. Lewis commented publicly on the arrest of Mr. John Acerra, principal of Nitschmann Middle School, since this was the first public meeting for Bethlehem Area School District since his arrest. Law firm White and Williams LLP has been hired due to the complexity of the incident at hand.
The following items were discussed:
COURTESY OF THE FLOOR TO VISITORS Ð
The board extended the
courtesy of the floor to hear all of the public input.
Interest in Broughal Middle School Ð
Mr. Dana Grubb, 2024 Henderson Place, Bethlehem
Ms. Mary Pongracz, 3321 West 4th Street, Bethlehem
Ms. Louise Mariano, 3114 East Boulevard, Bethlehem
All speakersÕ comments favored preservation of the building.
Mr. Dana Grubb, from the ÒFriends of Broughal SchoolÓ preservationists asked for an update from the board regarding the 32-page proposal for Request for Proposal (RFP) for adaptive reuse of the Broughal Middle School structure.
Dr. Lewis shared with Mr. Grubb and the public the (RFP) is currently in the hands of Attorney James Broughal and a March 14, 2007, meeting is scheduled.
AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE MARCH 19, 2007, REGULAR BOARD MEETING Ð
After discussion, the board committee agreed to bring the following agenda items to the March 19, 2007, Regular Board Meeting:
A. New Broughal Middle School PlanCon F Submittal
Facilities Meeting Minutes
March 5, 2007
Page 2
DISCUSSION ITEMS Ð
Mr. Fazil reviewed the PlanCon F submittal (construction documents) for the New Broughal Middle School and pointed out that on Page F17, the specific specification page numbers will be filled out once all the pages of the specifications are paginated. Also page F20 will be signed, indicating all approvals will be received before executing contracts. The board facilities committee authorized forwarding the PlanCon F document to the March 19, 2007 board meeting for approval. There was, however, extensive discussion on adding an alternate bid to separate the demolition of the project. The board committee consensus was to include the alternate bid for demolition of the existing building, and the alternate option will be able to be exercised by the Bethlehem Area School District for six (6) months from the date of bid receipt. This will allow for adequate time for the existing building re-use RFP to be received and evaluated.
Mr. Craig, Mr. Amato, Mrs. Rowe, Mrs. Williams, Dr. Haytmanek, Mrs. Koch, and Mrs. Leeson noted that they would only entertain the RFP if there was a solution to providing the athletic field for Broughal students, and additionally, if there were no costs to the district.
Mr. Fazil noted that the alternate would pre-establish a value for eliminating the demolition and site work (cost of $2 plus million) in the old building area. Mr. Fazil noted that although this will help establish the cost and reduce the issues when negotiating the final design changes with the contractors. However, if and when the board accepted the alternate, there would need to be a revised final design as well as site approvals and redesign work to ensure that the project can be implemented with both buildings on site. Some of the issues would include:
- PDE approval for eliminating the field as well
as the potential building re-use.
Mrs. Rowe pointed out that the field is part of the educational program.
- Storm water re-design and approval.
- Subdivision approvals.
- Parking allocation, since the current allocation is assigned for the school and church.
- Sewer capacity purchase, since the current capacity is allocated for the new building.
- City of Bethlehem, Conservation
District, and Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
approvals.
Mr. Fazil stated that the procedure for not accepting the associated asbestos bids or terminating that contract would need to be investigated to find the best way to address this issue. We would also have to consider how the alternate for not demolishing the building and associated site work would enter into the determination of the low bidder.
There would also be some redesign and management costs if the RFP for re-use was accepted for all of the reasons stated above. The redesign will also require changes to the site work and some change orders to the new building project contracts.
Facilities Meeting Minutes
March 5, 2007
Page 3
NEW BROUGHAL MIDDLE SCHOOL PROJECT COST ALLOCATIONS Ð
Dr. Lewis reported that the Design team has been proactive in keeping track of the project costs and the inflation being experienced on numerous recent projects is very high.
Mr. Fazil reported that he has been reviewing the construction inflation, and in November 2006 raised caution about an anticipated 7 percent inflation increase. He reviewed the handouts which included:
1.) The comparison sheet of some construction commodities from 2003 to 2007 which reflects the staggering cost increases in construction.
2.) A two-page narrative on the construction cost projections which listed a $6 million increase to the budget allocation for a projected cost of $51.5 million.
3.) A handout referencing Means Construction Cost Indexes Values.
4.) A line item summary of the projects cost projections showing the projections for the various systems and line items.
The board acknowledged the cost projections.
Mr. Fazil reported that numerous value engineering alternates have been implemented, and he is hoping that this work in combination with the Bethlehem Area School District track record of timely payments and good project management will create the competition necessary to reduce the project bids below the projections.
Mrs. Rowe asked if any of the subsurface lessons learned at Liberty would help us at Broughal. Mr. Fazil stated that the subsurface issues at Liberty were deeper and different than those anticipated at Broughal. For Broughal, we have also allowed some alternates on how to handle the conditions and the selection will be based on risk versus cost. These will be discussed once bids are received.
Mr. Fazil reported Freedom and Liberty High School Projects are on schedule.
Mr. Gilliland reported to the board that in 1986 Congress authorized the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. The Bethlehem Area School District has maintained an asbestos management program as a result of this legislation; however, the district has never been audited until last week. Mr. Gilliland noted that since the inception of the program the district has done an excellent job in managing the abatement in our buildings. Appropriate DEP forms were submitted, air clearance checks verified, and disposal manifest reviewed. He stated that at no time were any students or staff placed in jeopardy as a result of any abatement work done in the district.
Facilities Meeting Minutes
March 5, 2007
Page 4
The audit did however reveal inconsistencies with the maintenance of records. Mr. Gilliland stated that he accepts full responsibility to rectify these situations. Mr. James Newell, assistant supervisor of buildings and grounds, has been named compliance officer for the district. He will be attending an Environmental Protection Agency approved course on asbestos management. The entire departmental staff will work with our asbestos consultant to organize district records in the EPA desired format.
Mr. Gilliland noted that the auditor told him that fines would be imposed for compliance issues. The auditor stated that the EPA does not seek to empty the pockets of the district. He stated that the fines would be negotiated at a meeting of both parties, and that quite possibly they would not exceed the district.
Dr. Lewis reiterated to the board this situation is based on paperwork and all students and staff were always protected.
Mrs. Leeson reminded the board members that Wednesday, March 7, 2007, Nitschmann parent meeting at 7:00 p.m. is primarily to listen to the parents of Nitschmann Middle School.
Minutes prepared by:
__________________________________________________________
Joanne Carraghan, Secretary to the Director of Facilities and Operations
_____________________________________________
Scott T. Gilliland, Director of Facilities and Operations