Committee forced to make cuts in South School
Published on October 7th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - The School Building Committee shaved off a portion of the cost estimate for the rebuilding of South School, on Wednesday night, bringing that figure more in line with the $7 million price tag originally anticipated.
Duncan McClelland, from the architectural firm E.R. Flansburgh & Associates, advised the committee that the cost estimate had been reduced from a previous estimate of approximately $7.5 million, but was still significantly over the target at $7,274,000 with drawings 95 per cent complete.
With the project imminently scheduled to go out to bid, the committee opted to search for cost savings via a list of items related to the project,which was put together by McClelland. According to McClelland, none of the items listed would affect the educational program for the new school.
In reviewing the list, the committee opted to either leave an item in the project, delete it from the project or to make it an add alternate.
An add alternate is an item that is chosen to be included in the project only after there has been a determination of sufficient money to cover its cost. In the case of South School, if the bid comes in low, the committee will be able to incorporate the add alternates that the overage will allow. The prioritizing of add alternates is critical since they must be taken in order of how they appear on the list.
Under careful review, $123,000 was identified as savings from deletion of items or designation as add alternates.
The items that the committee opted to delete from the project scope, many of which could be addressed at a later date by securing individual quotes by a separate contractor, included: laminated shingles (change to conventional) at a savings of $6,500; display case at $4,000; double window classroom and office doors (changed to single narrow window) at an $8,000 savings; and maple wood doors and interior woodwork (change to oak) at a savings of $48,000.
The items identified as add alternates included playground equipment at approximately $5,000 and trees and shrubs at approximately $23,000. Full air conditioning of the building had earlier been identified as an add alternate by the committee at a cost of $29,000.
Prioritizing of the add alternates was also addressed. South School Principal Dr. Paula Sline advised the committee of the importance of the playground equipment for the new school.
Slain stated that South School students and parents have proven very flexible about the transition space at the High School. The new playground equipment will give them something to look forward to, she said, and encouraged that to be a high priority.
"Although the transition to the High School has been great, the lack of playground equipment ... has been the hardest," stated Sline.
The committee responded to placing the playground equipment first on the add alternate list, with trees and shrubs second and full air conditioning third.
Items that the committee considered important to leave in the project included benches, bike racks and trash containers, patterned brick on the exterior of the building, and ceramic tile in the corridors. Granite sidewalks were favored by the committee rather than a change to concrete, and kitchen equipment and lighting was designated to remain as originally designed.
By the end of the meeting, the cost estimate was reduced to $7,151,000.
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