District 13 Building Committee Approves $3.67 Million in Memorial School Bills

DURHAM, CT — The building committee overseeing Memorial School's renovation and expansion signed off on $3.67 million in construction bills Wednesday, Oct. 21, and approved another round of change orders, leaving the project's owner contingency at $489,000, according to the meeting minutes.

All nine members at the meeting, held in the Coginchaug Regional High School library, voted for both measures; Patch reported the invoice vote as 9-0. The panel is the Building Committee of the Regional School District 13 Board of Education.

The work is a $76 million project to renovate and enlarge Middlefield's Memorial School, whose new name is Three Oaks Memorial. When it is finished, it will be a pre-K-5 school for both towns, taking in the classes now held at Durham's Brewster Elementary School and Middlefield's John Lyman Elementary School, according to STV, the district's owner's project manager.

Where the $3.67 Million Goes

Seven invoices made up the $3,672,555.39 total. Nearly all of it, $3,600,776.41, was the 11th payment application from construction manager O&G.

The other six were far smaller: $47,511.48 to architect QA+M for construction administration, two materials-testing bills from IMTL totaling $16,167.50, $3,850 to Electric Works for inverter work, $2,250 to Weston & Sampson for inspections and $2,000 to Pennoni for hazardous-materials testing and monitoring.

Finance Director Neubig reported that the district has received its bond money, about $20 million, Patch reported, and the minutes say the first state reimbursement is expected within two weeks. The district refinanced part of its short-term borrowing and is issuing bonds in stages, spreading the debt payments over the next few years.

Change Orders Draw Down a Thin Cushion

The largest change order was $132,159 to square the roofing allowance with actual costs, rebidding included. Others paid for removing asbestos mastic found beneath existing walls ($14,181), repairing a sunken section of slab in the locker-room and game-bathroom area after heavy tile came up ($7,641) and adjusting the height of an old well that stood above grade ($3,083). Smaller items covered pulling out abandoned electrical wiring ($2,439) and pouring concrete into an old trench in the former mechanical room ($1,235).

Branded screening for the temporary fence along Hubbard Street, $2,223, came out of the construction manager's own contingency and does not change the project's total.

STV's Liska put the remaining owner contingency at $489,000. That figure already counts the change orders approved so far, those under review or expected, a possible $71,000 credit on the courts and $150,000 set aside for an outdoor classroom. Members agreed the cushion is thin. They hope to get through December without a major unplanned cost and expect to know more once steel and flooring work moves along.

Sports Courts Wait Until December

The site contractor has floated a credit of about $71,000 for building two outdoor courts instead of four, a full tennis court and a hybrid court. The number is tentative and not yet backed by paperwork, so members declined to vote until the contractor sends its pricing and a final layout.

The courts are spring work and do not hold up the rest of the project. The committee plans to settle the courts and the outdoor classroom by the end of December, when costs, the remaining contingency and any chance of getting back part of the construction manager's contingency should be clearer.

The Building Should Be Closed In by Early January

O&G's Luccarelli, whom the committee congratulated on being named ACG Connecticut's 2026 Industry Project Manager of the Year, said crews are backfilling underground utilities, pouring concrete, framing with metal studs, erecting steel and preparing decks and slabs. The signed beam is now in place in the gym, and the existing building is getting temporary window protection for winter work.

Roofing will move one section at a time: Areas F and G should take about 20 days and the gym about 10. The aim is to have the whole building covered by late December or early January.

Names, Furniture and a Playground Check

QA+M's Collier said a recertification inspection of the playground was being set for the morning of Oct. 28 or 29. Its results will decide which equipment can move and which has to be replaced, and some playground items could wait until January. Preliminary furniture budgets were due by the end of that week, with selections to be settled before a state review planned for December.

Students will be surveyed on mascot choices before another vote, and the mascot and room names are expected around early December. Collier urged the district to settle the names for the mascot, the plaques, the gym and the cafeteria quickly, since custom signs and graphics can take several rounds with fabricators.

Strong School Entrance Work Aims for Summer 2027

At Strong School, a survey of part of the site will set elevations for a new accessible entrance and ramp. Designers are also working on a secured entry vestibule and changes to the main office. District staff are writing a grant application and seeking special legislation that would make the work a priority project, raising the state's share of the security costs.

The plan, Collier said, is a state review around January 2027, bids in early spring and construction in summer 2027, finished before students return. Drawings should be ready for a meeting with legislators expected Dec. 4 or 7.

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