Board Announces Junior-Senior High Construction Began Last Week
Reynolds Construction Management Vice-President of Pre-Construction Todd Buzard (foreground) introduced Project Manager Roshelle Fennell to Armstrong School District board directors at their open caucus session last night before she gave her first report on site activity.
by Jonathan Weaver
Whether local residents saw them or not, construction vehicles moved into Armstrong County to begin work on the new Armstrong School District junior-senior high school last week.
That was confirmed by Board President Joseph Close following the open caucus session last night.
Close indicated that he signed contracts May 2 to begin construction.
“They were officially able to begin Thursday (May 2nd) afternoon,” Close said.
Reynolds Construction Management Project Manager Roshelle Fennell was introduced during the meeting and explained what has been going on so far.
“We have gotten started – the contractor is up there clearing trees, cutting them up and hauling them off-site, has constructed the temporary road down to the building pad,” Fennell said. “Things are starting to move.”
Hudson Group, Inc of Hermitage, Pa. was voted as the general contractor at the end of February.
A meeting must take place Monday with the Armstrong Conservation District before dirt moving can begin.
“Things are moving well,” Fennell said.
Close was at the site May 9th to look over the area and saw the equipment ready for after that go-ahead is received.
Fennell made her first public recommendation: to hire Professional Services, Inc (PSI) of Pittsburgh as the project’s independent testing agency for special inspections: including soil testing and steel, fire and masonry inspections.
PSI submitted one of four bids received by Reynolds Construction Management and is contracted at $96,522
However, Fennell said that cost could fluctuate based on need.
“This is not a lump sum contract; it is a unit price contract, so this is not the final number, but it gave us an idea of what we’re looking at,” Fennell said. “We have budgeted about $250,000 for the testing.
“It could be more, could be less depending on the amount of testing we feel is needed. The soil testing is a very important part of the project, so we will do as much as possible to make sure we have everything installed properly,” Fennell added.
Construction was initially planned to begin the first week of April, but L.R. Kimball Project Manager Brian Hayes said additional work with PennDOT and DEP was required.
Superintendent Stan Chapp also updated board directors about lane reconfiguration at the intersection of Route 422 (Indiana Pike) and South Water Street (commonly known as the Edgewood Intersection). The intersection is at the base of the hill less than a mile before the Buffington Road intersection that will lead to the new junior-senior high.
Chapp said that two left-turning lanes will need to be added coming from Kittanning, but that an agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation could save the district some money.
“In exchange for a partnership between Manor Township and the school district, PennDOT would do the lane improvements as long as we took over the maintenance of the stop lights,” Chapp said. “This could potentially save us $150,000 or more on our construction costs; our light-maintenance costs would only be about $2-3,000 per year and perhaps less since they had already been converted to LED (light-emitting diode).”
Board approval for the collaboration could come as soon as Monday’s regular monthly meeting.
Money saved would be added to the overall construction contingency, according to Reynolds Construction Management Vice-President of Pre-Construction Todd Buzard.
Another construction-related referendum on Monday’s agenda includes giving Chapp authorization to approve construction change orders up to $10,000 ‘to streamline the (construction) process.’One of the first change orders Chapp expects to occur in order to save money is eliminating the cost of built-in combination locks; instead, having students bring in their own.
According to Solicitor Lee Price, board directors will still be required to ratify any change orders and approval through L.R. Kimball Architects and Reynolds Construction Management.
Chapp also recognized the district for being ranked higher this past year in the Pittsburgh Business Times annual review and in the U.S. News and World Report rankings.
Based on statistics gathered during the 2010-11 school year, Elderton Junior Senior High ranked 49th in the state and nearly in the top 1,500 nationally because of above-average reading proficiency, matching math proficiency and above-average college readiness.
West Shamokin Junior-Senior High was also recognized for its above-average reading proficiency.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re making academic gains that our community should be very proud of,” Chapp said.
He thanked the community, board members and teachers for their hard work.
An exterior building design of the future junior-senior high school in Manor Township was shown more than six months ago, and is closer to reality as site construction began last week.
Armstrong School District | jweaver May 10, 2013
By Lee, May 10, 2013 @ 10:21 AM
I believe that it is getting close to the time that the board must decide to renew or not renew Chapp’s contract. I think they must let him know 18 mos before it is up. I think a huge cost saving to the district would be to eliminate Chapp and shop for a more reasonably priced superintendent. If you compare what other supers in the area are making, or better yet in the state, I think you will find that we are paying far and above the average superintendents rate. I would hazard a guess that Larry Robb would be happy to step into the position for much less. I believe that was the original plan anyway was it not. Of course there is also Chris DeVivo. I think Chapp will ind Leechburg looking for a new super as I see Mr. Budzilek has deserted that sinking ship. See, many options that would probably save more than eliminating locks.
By jorn jensen, May 11, 2013 @ 10:01 AM
Agree, Lee. In the 1980′s, we explored Leechburg joining up with Kiski or ASD, but after closing all schools other than the one in town, board majority decided to ‘keep it going’. With the loss of 1/2 of Allegheny Ludlum and no other industry, that tax base declined. I guess I could look it up, but I did read, somewhere, that they gradaute 34 students these days. That’s quite expensive tutoring.
Understand, we have 12 in administration for ASD, 6 of whom are PHD’s. That’s very impressive for a school district of 5,500 students and 475 teachers in a rural school district.
By scott_starr, May 11, 2013 @ 1:35 PM
the educators getting PhD’s are done predominately so they can teach at the University Level after retirement from ASD.
I would like to know a single program, idea or anything implemented by our PhD’s which actually made education better. A forward thinking policy ( not a reactive policy).. anything to give me some ” faith”.