No Date Yet For NHS Expansion Move In

By Eliza Hallabeck

Since Sunday, alarm system glitches were putting the move-in date for the Newtown High School expansion on hold.

Fire Marshal Bill Halstead reported on Wednesday, December 8, however, the expansion was cleared of all fire alarm issues by 10:45 am. Just the night before, at the Board of Education’s Tuesday, December 7 meeting, the glitches were still an impediment to the expansion’s opening.

“They need to have ten percent of the alarms testing positively in the school,” said Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson at the meeting.

She explained that the fire marshal’s office needs to test ten percent of the school’s 400 possible alarms; all 40 tested need to work properly to pass moving into the expansion.

It is a safety holdup, that, like a line of cards, is preventing a move-in date from being set.

On Monday, NHS Principal Charles Dumais was hoping for the situation to be cleared by Tuesday, and on Tuesday, Dr Robinson was hoping for the situation to be cleared by Wednesday, December 8.

Other work on the high school is going smoothly, like the bleachers in the gymnasium and the pool. Both are ready for use once the certificate of occupancy is received for the addition, Dr Robinson said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Dr Robinson told the school board, Mr Halstead was reporting alarms were still notifying emergency responders about the wrong section of the building.

“It’s not indicating for the emergency responders the correct place for where the alarms are going off,” said Dr Robinson. “He’s hoping we can get the alarms, the programming and the synchronization, done. That is the holdup right now.”

Mr Halstead said the issue arouse on Sunday, when a smoke detection unit on the building’s roof went off, showing a problem in the older addition of the building. The contractors, he said, began working on the problem, and the fire marshal’s office returned daily to check on the situation.

While other punch list items remain to be corrected or finished, Dr Robinson said the alarm system was the main problem on Tuesday.

Board of Education Chairman William Hart said when he attended the expansion and renovation project owner’s meeting last Thursday, December 2, he noticed things, like chairs and computer cables, still needed to be set up in the high school addition. The floors also needed to be rewaxed, he said.

“I hope they get this fixed so that tomorrow or the next day they can issue a [certificate of occupancy],” Dr Robinson said, “but this is a safety factor. [Fire Marshal Bill Halstead] is doing his darndest to work with us, and he is over at the building everyday. So, I don’t want anyone thinking that the fire marshal is holding this up. It’s not the fire marshal. He’s as anxious as we are to get this taken care of.”

Mr Hart said the alarm system is not something the district should want compromise on.

Dr Robinson agreed.

“If you have fire alarm indicators showing the problem is in one section of the building, and it’s in another, that’s a dangerous situation,” said Dr Robinson.

Ramifications

While the pool is filled with water and the new emblem on the gymnasium floor is painted, without the certificate of occupancy neither can be used, and Dr Robinson said Athletic Director Greg Simon is compiling a list of the costs associated with not yet having use of the expansion.

“He’s been wonderful about finding resources,” said Dr Robinson, “and the other districts have been wonderful about trying to help us out.”

Expenses include an extension obtained for the leased portables on the property, according to Dr Robinson. School board member David Nanavaty also warned Fletcher Thompson, the project’s architect, had a contract set to finish on a certain date, and an added cost may be associated with an postponement to the contract.

Mr Nanavaty also reminded the school board that once the certificate of occupancy is gained, there are other items on the punch list that will need attention, like sinks that drain the wrong way and gas cook tops that may or may not need venting.

“These are small punch list items that I think impact learning and education more than if we were waiting for caulk on a stone wall, or that sort of thing,” said Mr Nanavaty. “It’s little items like that, that probably will prevent us, even with a [certificate of occupancy], from putting our teachers and students in there.”

Chartwells, the district’s food service provider, will also need one week to work in the new space before students can start using the expansion, Mr Nanavaty said.

 Dr Robinson said NHS Principal Charles Dumais is working to keep the issue in front of construction firm The Morganti Group, by keeping a website for teachers and school personnel to list found punch list items.

Mr Halstead said on Wednesday that the fire marshal’s office has approved the expansion, but did not know whether the certificate of occupancy had been passed by the town’s building department.

Chief Building Official John Poeltl said Thursday morning that his office is awaiting a letter from the architect, which should be drafted today. “Hopefully, we’ll get it today.”