On Tuesday, May 25, the Permanent Building Committee (PBC) conferred on a series of potential change orders and additions for the high school, the locker room renovation, and more. The changes include alterations in plans for the new high school’s main electrical room, which prompted a good amount of discussion among committee members.

At the crux of the electrical room’s discussion was a relocation of a grease trap. O&G’s Mr. Joe Vetro explained that once the design was put into practice, there was not enough space. “The grease trap was supposed to be closer to this catch basin and manhole than I can get it,” he said. Multiple electrical conduits also come through this space, Vetro pointed out, and the grease trap needed to be relocated to allow those conduits to run through. 41 yards of additional rock needed to be removed in the process. There was discussion about this being added to the running Errors and Omissions log, once a determination is made on where the error lies.

Emotions ran higher when a discussion ensued about blasting rock for a water tank at the high school. The blasting has been in discussion for over six weeks and PBC member Mr. Paul Boniello made a call in April that the pricing would get more expensive the longer the process moved on. He didn’t want to be asked to make rushed decisions without enough information on this topic, which has happened before, and happened again at this meeting. When Vetro dropped the news that the schedule would be affected if a decision wasn’t made right away, Boniello pointed out that this was exactly what he was trying to avoid. The committee agreed to arrange for a special meeting the following week (it was scheduled for Tuesday, May 31), which would allow time for more information to be collected and absorbed.

PBC members also discussed the funds necessary to build a berm and then put a 6-foot fence on top of that to help a Gillotti Road neighbor who lives opposite the high school driveway and constantly has headlights shining into their house. There was agreement that a permit should be pulled for this project and the logistics need to be determined. For example, it was pointed out that it is not the homeowner contracting with the company that would be building the berm, so obviously the homeowner does not want to be liable for that.

Another project addition was a sound system that has been requested for specific rooms in the high school. These are intended for voice enhancement and will be placed in small group instructional spaces.

It was also noted that the Zoning Commission has scheduled the continuance of the May 2 Zoning Commission meeting to discuss the zoning for the bus lot. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 7:30 p.m.

The next regular Permanent Building Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 7, 7:30 p.m.

By Sarah Opdahl