The Board of Education is lookng for three separate contractors to install new Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems.
By: Josh Appelbaum
The school board is changing its plan to upgrade heating and air conditioning systems in older sections of Cranbury School in order to cut costs.
The Board of Education decided Tuesday to seek three separate contractors for electrical, mechanical and general contracting to install new Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems for sections of the school built in 1949 and 1957.
The project will see the replacement of outmoded HVAC units, ceilings, windows, cabinets and other equipment in classrooms and the old gym, which is now used as an auditorium.
School Business Administrator Brian DeLucia said dividing the project among three subcontractors will be less expensive then hiring a single contractor. He said a single contractor would subcontract work to electricians and mechanical contractors, usually at a higher cost to the school district.
The board wants to solicit about 20 bids each from mechanical, electrical and general contractors for the project, and expects the bids by July 15.
Mr. DeLucia said he expects the contract to be awarded on July 19, and utility work to be completed before school’s opening in September.
He said the old gym in the 1957 Section would be closed from September through Thanksgiving for the installation of a new single-unit HVAC with five separate compressors.
Five separate air conditioning units were proposed initially for the project. However, the plan was scaled back after the district received bids from contractors that were higher than expected, between $1.2 million and $2.7 million. At Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. DeLucia said the lowest reasonable bid for the project came in at $1.8 million. The board’s cap for the project is about $1.2 million.
The board eliminated four classrooms in the 1967 section of the building from the original proposal to cut the cost of the project. Two kindergarten classrooms in the 1949 section that were renovated in 1997 might also be dropped for the new project if they don’t come in under budget.
The school board had opened the bid process in April, and planned to have the project completed before the 2005-2006 school year began.
However, because of the delay, the project will be done in three phases and won’t be finished until the summer of 2006.
The school board is working with Innovative Engineering and architectural firm LAN to design to rework the bid specifications.
The new bid specifications will have contractors use hot water lines for heat instead of natural gas. Mr. DeLucia said the hot water lines are cheaper to install but require more maintenance. He said the water would have to be treated with chlorine and tested every three months.
The contractor also will use aluminum instead of galvanized steel for the HVAC ducts.
The project is partially covered by a $562,000 grant the district received under the state Department of Education’s Save Our Facilities Program.
The grant is in place to help pay for improvements to older educational facilities to meet new building code requirements set by municipalities and the state. The school previously received grants through the program to remodel the school parking lot for handicapped access and the addition of a wheelchair/walker entryway.
The district completed the first of two phases of an asbestos abatement process in preparation for the HVAC improvements over the school’s spring break, from March 21-25.
The next phase of asbestos removal will begin in June and will be unaffected by the HVAC project delay.