New London BOE updated on summer construction projects

New London’s Board of Education was updated by Superintendent Brad Romano on the district’s summer construction season during their most recent meeting.

Prioritizing the list Romano told the board, “The roof and Wildcat Drive are two of the biggest items.” He noted when speaking about Wildcat Drive they are also talking about parking lots and access roads in and off campus.

“We also looked at the playground at the elementary, concrete pathways and sidewalks around campus, stucco work on the exterior of the building, interior fixtures, lighting, carpet, and flooring. We want to see where we are at with wear and tear and our budget.

“The stucco and concrete need attention, but they don’t need as much attention and are not as urgent as Wildcat Drive and the roof.”

Romano said there has been an infrared reading of the roof in recent years and there were some core samples taken. A second reading was done last year. “The good news is the wet areas have not gotten wetter and they have not expanded.

Over the gymnasium areas, according to Romano, the material is beginning to pull away from the roof itself making replacement of the sections above the gymnasiums taking first priority.

The cost to tear off and replace the total roof comes $1.5 million, according to Romano. “We have a budget of $1.3 million and it doesn’t even cover 100 percent of a roof replacement.

Three alternate roof plans were presented to the board with pricing. The base bid for the roof project is $335,000.

The three alternates plans range in price from $11,000 to $213,000.

The prices vary depending on whether or not the roof or portions of the roof are replaced or repaired and a restoration coating is used. Romano pointed out the cost per square foot using a restoration coating is $3.75 and new roof is $17.75.

The goal of paving project is to finish Wildcat Drive and install curbs to help with the erosion of the roadway.

The base bid for the project is $581,000 and deals with the elementary side of the building and main strip of Wildcat Drive.

There are also alternates to the project.

The first alternate deals with the area where buses park at the beginning and end of the day, the visitor’s parking lot for athletic events, main visitor parking lot outside of the high school and middle school main entrance.

The second alternate is the student and staff parking lot. Prices are $351,000 and $394,000 respectively.

The roof and Wildcat Drive Projects will go to the architects, who will prepare and review bid documents by the end of March.