State and local school officials met with representatives of the companies responsible for the construction of the Jefferson Village School to discuss a timeline for completion of the building.
On Feb. 15, AOS 93 Supt. Steve Bailey met with members of the state Dept. of Education, the contractor Bowman Constructors, the architect Oak Point Associates, and some of the subcontractors who worked on the school. At that meeting, they established a schedule for completion.
“We hope things will be wrapped up by the end of March,” Bailey said in a telephone interview Feb. 23. “We’re trying to apply pressure to get these things done.”
At this point, there are some final aspects of construction remaining, as well as some issues with the plumbing system that must be addressed, and a redesign of the sprinkler system in the school library.
School and town officials toured the building on Feb. 22 with a representative of the state fire marshal’s office and two representatives of state plumbing inspector’s office. The plumbing inspectors showed the tour several examples of code violations in the building. Those issues will be among those addressed by the end of March, Bailey said.
The issues include improper placement of drains in the kitchen and a problem with the outlet from the food-processing unit that the inspector said could theoretically lead to rotting food backing into the potable water system.
There are also two large water storage tanks in a mechanical room on the first floor. The tanks were installed during initial construction as a back-up system in case the building’s well was unable to handle the building’s demands. If there had been a problem with the well, the water in the tanks would have been used throughout the building.
Unfortunately, the tanks used are not rated for potable water, the plumbing inspector said. They were, until recently, open at the top and located underneath a dust evacuation vent, officials said.
There have been no issues with the well and the tanks will be removed by the end of March, Bailey said, adding, “As issues are discovered, they are being addressed.”
