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School projects out to bid

Board review expected Feb. 10

By John Faucher


The New London School District opened the bidding process for building improvements and additions at its Parkview and Readfield elementary schools Thursday, Jan. 9.

District Administrator Scott Bleck updated school board members on the timeline at their Jan. 13 board meeting.

The New London Planning and Zoning committee approved a site plan for a 4,200-square-foot Parkview addition Jan. 2.

Bleck reported that administrators and maintenance staff sat down with a team from Sommerville Architect and Engineer Services Jan. 6 to review finalized design plans for both projects before releasing them to bidders.

“We went page by page through the documents to ensure that the scope of work which the board has discussed was conceptually approved as a direction on how it would be laid out,” said Bleck.

Sommerville formally released the documents to contractors and prospective bidders Jan. 9.

“That process has now started and contractors, vendors and individuals that feel they are able to take on the scope of work now have the opportunity to start reviewing the documents,” said Bleck.

He anticipated that site walkthroughs, bidding clarification and project scope review discussions would take place for the next three weeks.

“Bidding will go on for about three weeks and then we will start to sift through them via our facilities committee and see where the chips will fall,” said Bleck.

Board President Terry Wegner asked when they anticipated bids coming to the full board for approval.

Business Services Director Joe Marquardt said the facilities committee would likely meet the week of Feb. 3 and he anticipated the full board will review bids at the Feb. 10 meeting.

“Hopefully the project scope comes in under budget and we are able to carry out all of our discussions,” said Bleck.

“If for some reason the project work does not come under the budget piece of where we are, then we’ll have conversation as to priority and alternatives to ensure we’re still hitting the mark of what the work is intended to accomplish.”

Parkview addition

Remodeling plans for Parkview Elementary School, built in 1969, include the addition of restroom facilities to the west hallway to accommodate student needs, and the addition of two multipurpose classroom spaces along Jennings Street.

Marquardt said there will be access to the new addition from Jennings Street to support after-school programming. He said the addition will improve supervision and overall building safety, while supporting educational initiatives.

The project will include HVAC system updates, ceiling grid, lighting updates, and some noise reduction fixtures.

The cafeteria/gym will be redesigned to allow tables to hang from walls when not in use.

The remodel will also improve storage spaces in the building to limit hallway clutter.

Some flooring and casework in the building will also be replaced to mimic the design and concept of the current kindergarten classrooms.

Readfield remodel

Readfield Elementary School which was built in 1963, will receive HVAC updates to support improved heating and cooling throughout the building.

The project also includes creation of an ADA accessible restroom in the building, new windows, flooring, lighting and casework updates as well as some exterior brick work.

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