By Sarah Opdahl

New Fairfield’s Permanent Building Committee (PBC) met on Tuesday, August 22 to review the construction status of the high school, which they were assured by O&G’s Mr. Joe Vetro, “will be ready to open.” Many last-minute projects are in the works, and the parking lots and driveways were being finalized at the time of this meeting. PBC members were interested in all testing that was being done and still needed completion in the lead up to obtaining a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy.

A bigger hurdle they were experiencing a t the time of this meeting was issues with the Building Management System (BMS) not being able to read temperature and airflow when there is more than one ventilation (VRF) unit in a classroom—each room typically has two units, but only one is reporting to the BMS. It was explained, “ventilation is coming from the rooftop unit. The VRF is actually cooling or heating the space with the airflow right there in the unit.” It is difficult to maintain temperature and gauge any issues that might be experienced without being able to read both units.

Colliers International’s Mr. Mark Schweitzer walked the PBC through outstanding items to purchase and install for the high school, including AV broadcasting equipment changes, modifications, and reconfigurations that are needed “to get the system to work as intended”—which is in reaction to an error in the equipment that was ordered. The equipment fix involves a switch to allow for HDMI capability, but the PBC was concerned about labor costs, given the need to pull additional cables as well to make this work in the cable run. In addition, a temporary sidewalk outside of the new gym, which will become more permanent after the old high sch ool is demolished,  was discussed; plus, longer HDMI cords are needed for several rooms in the high school, 25-foot cords were originally purchased for each room, which are not adequate for all rooms.

At the elementary school, the playground installer agreed to scramble on fixing the play surface areas that are in need of repair because, “the play surface was less than what it needed to be,” Schweitzer said. They will also make repairs to the play equipment before the start of school, including pieces that were involved in several injuries in the spring. PBC Chair Mr. Don Kellogg pressed on the playground, asking, “are we confident that the proposed repairs are suitable and are going to provide us with the long-term durability that we expect out of this equipment?” Collier’s Mr. Scott Pellman responded, “everything that was damaged, all the loose and open seams, there is a detailed plan and photos that were taken, scope of work was reviewed, and all of the damaged pieces of equ ipment are going to be replaced and reinstalled and all of the loose areas, holes, and seams are going to be cut out and replaced.”

PBC members discussed the solution for the old auditorium demolition, especially at the elevator wall. To alleviate the need to take further measures in closing up the middle school, JCJ Architecture’s Mr. Bill Ayres said, “We’re going to cut down on the precast on top and take a little weight off that.”.

A temporary egress pass out of the pool area, which is needed in the event of an emergency, was another topic of discussion. Schweitzer said, “We need to build a maintainable walk/path to the public way, which is the gravel road in the back.” This would provide an easily plowable or snowplowable path.  

The next Permanent Building Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, 7:30 p.m.