More Work Slated for the Adams “Immediate Needs” Project

Work on the oldest school building in town continues with the recent

approval of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) bid by a Connecticut company.

The Board of Selectmen (BOS) recently approved the bid from Consulting Engineering Services, Inc. (CES), of Middletown for work on the Dr. Elisabeth Adams

Middle School.

The bid was for a $17,000 base bid with a not-to-exceed $3,000 for

reimbursables clause, said Cliff Gurnham, director of operations and facilities for the Board of

Education (BOE).

Gurnham said that the town's Standing Building Committee

received five bids and selected three firms for Request for

Proposals (RFPs).

The Standing Building Committee (SBC) "selected CES as the most qualified of the three, the best suited for the project, and having the best understanding of the project," said Gurnham, who noted that the committee also checked CES's references and was satisfied.

The firm's work on the school is part of a series of "immediate needs" improvements

recommended by the BOE and approved by voters at a $998,750 referendum last April.

In 2008, the school board

reviewed a report from the Community Task Force on School Facilities that showed that the 73 year-old school has air quality problems and needs electrical

upgrades as it is inadequate to

accept new technology.

The BOE agreed to create a list of the most urgent safety and health concerns, the most "immediate needs" at the school, and to include the costs of such repairs on the 2009 budget referendum, which was successful.

In June of last year, the BOS, upon recommendation from the SBC, approved a contract with

Silver/Petrucelli + Associates for the electrical engineering and

design for power distribution system improvements at the school.

In July of last year, the town

approved a contract with KBE Building of Farmington, a project management firm. For $53,164, KBE will oversee construction projects at the school by writing the bid specifications, conducting the bidding process, and managing the chosen bidders on four separate projects. The projects include electrical upgrades, renovations to the crawl space under the café, the replacement of 11 ventilators, and the installation of a condensing unit that serves three main

classrooms.

The Adams School, which houses grades 7 and 8, is located on Church Street and serves approximately 600 students with 100 staff members.