WESTFIELD – The School Building Committee last night approved several change orders to the contracts for the $36 million elementary school project now underway on Ashley Street.
Several of the change orders was related to equipment and design efforts, while others were bookkeeping measures.
The committee held the largest change order issue, installation of photovoltaic systems on the roof of the 96,000-square-foot structure, without action to further discuss the cost-benefit of that substantial investment.
Paul H. Kneedler of Skanska USA Building, Inc., the project manager, said that the fact that the bid came in at $3 million below budget will allow the city to include many of the alternate features identified earlier in the design process, but not included in the base bids for construction and systems installation.
The committee voted last night to approve a $70,000 change order for the type of boiler that will be installed in the new building. The city, in conjunction with Siemens, its energy efficiency consultant, requested the project manager and architect, Margo Jones Architects, Inc., to consider installation of a more efficient boiler system. Kristian Whitsett of Margo Jones Architects said that the mechanical engineers identified a system being installed in the North Middle School as the preferred upgrade for the Ashley Street project. The recommended system is 8 percent more efficient that the original boiler, and based on a 5 percent increase in the cost of natural gas, will result in a 15 year payback to the city. The higher efficiency system also qualifies the city for green-energy points, which increases the level of state funding for the school project.
The $70,000 change-order cost includes the new equipment, modification to the venting and design work to accommodate that equipment.
The committee balked at making a decision on an alternative energy system, photovoltaic cells, which could be installed on the roof of the building at a cost of between $200,000 and $500,000. Committee members requested the consultants to present cost-benefit analysis in greater detail, with data not only related to the photovoltaic cost and operation, but also the impact on the cost of purchasing electrical power through the Westfield Gas & Electric Department.
The proposals under review are for a large system which would produce about 65 kilowatts, 10 percent of the power supply needed to operate the building, and for a smaller system that would provide 3 to 5 percent of the building power supply.
The larger, $500,000 system would be constructed on the building’s south-facing roof surfaces, while the smaller, at $200,000, would be located on a flat section of the cafeteria roof.
The committee also approved two change orders of $78,000 and $118,000, moving funding within construction and system budgets and in the consultant’s contracts to reflect specific areas of responsibility.
The current structure will be demolished to clear the site for construction of the new school selected through the Massachusetts School Building Authority model school program. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has approved reimbursements of up to $23 million for the project.
