Public Building & Site Commission Chairman Bob Mitchell updated the Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday, May 17, on the Newtown High School auditorium renovation project and on the new Sandy Hook Elementary School project.SHES, Bonding Updates

The NHS auditorium project's next milestone, Mr Mitchell said, will be receiving the cost estimate, which he said is due by May 27.

"We are at 90 percent complete [with] construction documents," said Mr Mitchell, adding the documents will be used for the cost estimate on the project.

Both the final construction documents and the cost estimate, he said, will be delivered to the Board of Education by June 7. The project is tight, Mr Mitchell said, but he also said his commission is confident the project will remain within budget.

"The one thing we are concerned about is how much of the stage equipment we can actually afford within this year's budget," said Mr Mitchell. "So we are working with [Newtown Director of Visual and Performing Arts] Michelle Hiscavich on what is critical and what is a 'day two' item."

Mr Mitchell explained on Wednesday, May 18, all items that will be needed to have the NHS auditorium operational on its first day are being referred to as "day one items" and things that can be added later to the space, like extra lighting and sound equipment, are being referred to as "day two items."

The new auditorium, he said on Wednesday, will be fully functional as an assembly space when it opens. Further lighting, sound, and technology equipment are improvements already in the project that can be added later to make the space more appropriate for theatrical productions. The high school, Mr Mitchell said, currently rents lighting and sound equipment for musical productions.

The technology contract for the NHS auditorium project is set for completion before the Public Building & Site Commission's next meeting, which is slated for Tuesday, May 24. After that meeting, Mr Mitchell said, more "milestone" dates will be known.

Demolition on the project will start after the school year ends, Mr Mitchell told the board. A completion date is still not known.

Board of Education member John Vouros requested NHS and district staff be kept up to date on the project and decisions on what will be included.

Everything that needs to be built for the renovated auditorium space, Mr Mitchell said, will be included in the project. Things like a rigging system and acoustics, Mr Mitchell said, will be completed, as they would be impossible to add to the space at a later date.

On the evening of May 18, the Legislative Council unanimously authorized the school district and superintendent to apply to the state  to apply to the Commissioner of Administrative Services for a school construction project code violation grant; approved the preparation of drawings and specifications; and assigned responsibility for the project to the PBSC.

Mr Mitchell said construction by the Consigli Construction Company is expected to be "substantially completed" by June 1 for the new Sandy Hook School, which means the building will then go through the commission process.

"During that time we will finish touchups, exterior work, minor things in the interior," said Mr Mitchell, adding the commission process takes about one month.

As of May 17, according to a handout Mr Mitchell presented to the school board, the classroom wings are complete. The wings have been inspected and are undergoing final cleaning. Testing of systems in the building, like the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system, is underway, according to the document.

The building from the outside looks finished now, according to Mr Mitchell.

New furniture for the building is due to arrive by the weekend of July 15. Furniture currently at Chalk Hill Middle School in Monroe can also be moved before that point.

Essentially, Mr Mitchell said, other than small touchups around the grounds, the new building project will be completed by mid-July. Inspections and state approvals will also have to take place after that point.

After inspections, Mr Mitchell said, the building will be turned over to the town.

"A good team has worked very hard to get things done, and done kindly," said Mr Mitchell.

In other school-related business, the Legislative Council unanimously authorized a special appropriation and offering of bonds to cover the anticipated $475,000 required for the new gas-fired boiler replacement at Middle Gate Elementary School, along with the added upgrade to LED lighting fixtures throughout the building.

The council also unanimously authorized a special appropriation and offering of bonds to cover the anticipated $1,402,500 to replace or resurface a large older portion of the high school roof. Because that project exceeds a $1 million threshold, the Board of Selectmen were authorized to call a Town Meeting for qualified citizens to endorse or reject that roof expenditure. Presumably, the selectmen will set the date when they meet next on June 6, and will hold that Town Meeting at or before a subsequent selectmen's meeting.