The Sandy Hook Elementary School building project, which was completed with a $50 million grant from the State of Connecticut, could return in excess of $1 million back to state taxpayers as construction draws to a close ahead of the facility's official opening August 29.

According to Robert Mitchell, chairman of the Newtown Public Building and Site Commission (PBSC), the project has consistently been projected to come in slightly under budget. But during the commission's August 23 meeting, it was learned that the project would close out at around $49 million.

The PBSC serves as the project manager for virtually all local municipal and school building projects.

"We are trying to come up with the actual number," Mr Mitchell told The Newtown Bee following the meeting. "It's somewhere between $980,000 and $1.2 million. Unless something happens after opening, all the systems are commissioned, everything is built, and we're not anticipating any additional expenditures from the $50 million."

Because the budget still has $980,000 and there is still "over $100,000" left unspent in a contingency account, "we'll break the $1 million mark. I just don't have it down to the exact dollar," Mr Mitchell said.

As the PBSC got down to the final change orders, Mr Mitchell was pleased to announce the totals amounted to $8,000, "and from that we're getting a $6,300 credit," he added.

"A lot of it had to do with the fact that this job was handled so well by the construction manager," Mr Mitchell said.

While Sandy Hook school went up, the town was in the process of taking down, or preparing to take down two other high profile buildings, including one just a short distance from the new school.

Under Budget Demolitions

The Legislative Council learned at its August 17 meeting that the demolition of a former auto service garage in Sandy Hook Center at 7 Glen Road will likely come in under budget as well. Documents presented from Bestech Environmental Services and First Selectman Pat Llodra indicated the remediation and demolition, originally budgeted for $45,425, is projected to be completed for $25,000.

The $19,575 savings is coming as a result of the town Public Works Department handling the demolition phase, versus utilizing Bestech for both the remediation and demolition.

Mrs Llodra also told The Bee this week that the demolition of Canaan House, adjacent to the Newtown Municipal Center at Fairfield Hills, is also expected to come in under budget. The exact number is not yet available from the Fairfield Hills Authority (FHA).

But FHA Assistant Christal Preszler said once debris from the now-demolished structure is cleared, and she has all invoices in and calculated from other work done on campus under the same bond initiative, she is expecting to close the books under budget.

Mrs Llodra said if there is enough left from that project budget, she would like to consider doing an analysis of the remaining duplexes on campus, to determine if they should be "mothballed" or sealed to protect the structures from the elements until they can be renovated and leased or used for municipal services.

"Ultimately, I've asked Christal to come up with a plan of what we could do with the surplus in that budget, and she will work with the authority on narrowing those choices," Mrs Llodra said. "I've always thought the duplex area has great potential for a revenue stream. And the projects are easy to manage - they are bite-sized. Not millions of dollars that put a huge load on our debt."

Next Steps To Renovation

The PBSC also has completed the next required steps toward completing a significant renovation at the Newtown High School auditorium, as well as outlining firm dates during which the heavily utilized facility will be out of service.

During the commission's August 23 meeting, Chairman Robert Mitchell said his panel voted to accept the final design parameters, the project budget, and is poised to file the required paperwork to seek partial state reimbursement for qualifying aspects of the project related to educational programming.

"The final cost estimates and construction documents were accepted, and they will go to the Board of Education so they can approve them on September 6," Mr Mitchell said. "And we have to sign a [document] that allows the project to proceed with the understanding that partial reimbursement will come from the state."

Construction is scheduled to begin November 7, and conclude on or about May 15, 2017.

Mr Mitchell also confirmed that all aspects of the project, including bringing required life safety and accessibility features up to code, are included in the spending plan. The roughly $3.6 million project will incorporate final scope modifications to defer all theater equipment, like rigging, audio visual equipment, and stage lighting.

However, Mr Mitchell said the commission and design team were able to include all necessary infrastructure and conduits for those secondary hardware features, and if the project came in under budget, the PBSC would work to utilize any funds to begin outfitting the space with sound or lighting equipment.

"These are items the state would not have included in the reimbursement anyway," Mr Mitchell said. "But it will provide for us to install the heavy conduit needed for the audio system. Any money left over, and we start looking at putting equipment at each end of that."

He said in recent years, the school has rented a sound system, and companies coming in for outside productions, such as the NewArts summer musicals, have also brought in second-party lighting systems.

"The preference is we own it, instead of rent," Mr Mitchell said. "The commission's major conversation was around ensuring everything needed was there at the completion of the work next May. We didn't want a situation where we'd have to come in and undo or modify any work already done to complete equipping the facility."

But he said all the long anticipated seating, and acoustic improvements are all "100 percent covered," in the project budget.