By Sarah Opdahl

New Fairfield’s Permanent Building Committee (PBC) met on Tuesday, June 27, at which,, Colliers International’s Mr. Mark Schweitzer explained that work has ratcheted up at the existing high school following the students’ last day. By fencing the site and moving 12-month employees to the elementary campus, O&G was able to effectively begin all work on the parking lot and the establishment of the new bus loop and traffic flow. The ability to cut the fiber network and rework connections has allowed the new high school to be connected to the netw ork. At the time of the meeting, all furniture slated for donation was moved to the gym and furniture and technological items that are moving to the new school were being stored in the cafeteria.

With demolition beginning inside and outside of the high school, the PBC was asked to consider upgrading catch basins and tops in the middle school parking lot that will be adjacent to new pavement and/or sidewalks. At issue is the marriage of the old and new and how best to seam them without making the lot feel incongruous. The PBC ultimately approved five upgrades. In addition, they discussed a change to the bus drop-off sidewalk requested by school officials. The original sidewalk was five-feet wide and did not directly follow the bus drop-off lane. The changes alter it to an 8-foot-wide sidewalk which will solve an issue with students needing to walk over grass. There is “a lot of work to complete in the next nine weeks,” O&G’s Mr. Joe Vetro noted, especially outside the schools.

Vetro gave a digital walk through of the high school’s newest highlights, including the reveal of the flooring, the installation of task boards, and finished ceilings. He noted that the next step is to begin a thorough cleaning, which will take approximately three weeks, to ready the space for moving in. PBC members encouraged all parties to continue keeping up to date on all ongoing changes and plans in the “as builts” for the new high school. It was noted that a meeting is necessary with Langan representatives to go over storm drainage on the site plan and, in particular, the access road. Commissioning is ongoing and the PBC was surprised to hear that there were some programming needs identified f or the HVAC system. It was pointed out that these details are usually sorted out before those systems are ever delivered. In addition, there are upgrades being made to the elevator’s lighting, as the existing lighting did not meet code. Finally, punch lists have also begun for the high school.

Work continues at the elementary campus to chase down roof leaks. The masons who worked on the addition were on site in recent weeks and identified one location that is likely the cause. Vetro explained that it is very difficult to pinpoint causal spots in this scenario. Masons have repaired the spot and are hopeful that this new leak will be solved. The electricians are also working on a punch list on the site, as well as running the wires for new exterior lighting, as that campus was not adequately lit. The fixtures are ordered and will be added in the coming weeks. Replacement countertops, new conference tables, and a new desk will be added this summer as well. Grass establishment is continuing to be a goal, as the site never fully recovered from the upheaval of co nstruction.

The elementary playground continues to be a concern and a meeting is scheduled with the installers. JCJ Architecture’s Mr. Bill Ayres stated, “we are meeting with them to review their corrective measures on the items that have not quite performed as anticipated…we’re trying to work with them to ensure that the playscape area is still going to be a safe and fun environment for the kids and make any modifications that need to be made.” An additional curb cut to ideally solve an ongoing bus loop issue will likely occur this summer. PBC Chair Mr. Don Kellogg expressed frustration at the languishing issue, pointing out the difficulty in scheduling the contractor needed for this solu tion is a well-known factor and “this has been hanging out here for four months.”

The next regular Permanent Building Committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 11, 7:30 p.m.