Project Costs for Three of Four Schools Now $119K Under Budget
OLD LYME—The Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Board of Education has today given an update on the progress of the PK-8 Building Project for which voters approved $57,555,000 in November 2022.
The project itself is, more accurately, two different projects as they are being supported by two different state grant programs.
Prior to the referendum, the district received an Extension and Alteration Grant commitment from the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) for Mile Creek School in the amount of $9,075,088.
Subsequent to the referendum, three district schools (Center School, Lyme School, and LOL Middle School) received a separate HVAC/Indoor Air Quality grant from DAS in the amount of $12,009,717.
Only the first of these two grants was anticipated in the planning and informational materials provided to the voters at the time of the referendum. The additional $12 million in grants reduced the amount of local tax dollars necessary to fund the project. These additional grant monies, combined with the lower interest rate environment for bonds and notes, will save the Lyme-Old Lyme community around $16 million.
Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser said, “We are proud of these additional savings this early in the process yet remain committed to completing the project within the amount authorized at referendum.” He explained that In order to do so, the Board of Education’s Building Committee had taken action to address what were initially very high bid responses for some portions of the work. Rebidding certain components of the project resulted in over $3 million of cost reductions.
In addition, the committee, with approval from the board of education, reassigned the proposed renovation work for the security vestibules at Lyme School, Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, and Center School from the PK-8 project budget to the board of education’s “rainy day” fund at an estimated cost of approximately $1 million, with such work to be completed on the same schedule as had been originally planned as a part of the PK-8 project.
Upon the recommendation of the building committee, and with the endorsement of the fire marshal, the board of education also approved retaining the existing compartmentalized fire protection system in lieu of adding sprinklers at Lyme School and Mile Creek School.
These decisions, along with a few other minor adjustments, have allowed the building committee to finalize project costs for Lyme School, Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, and Center School that are $119,612 under budget.
The committee expects to receive bid responses for the Mile Creek School project on or about Oct. 17, 2024. The portion of work relative to Mile Creek is estimated to represent about $25 million of the total PK-8 project cost.
Neviaser concluded, “We share this good news to keep our communities informed and commend those involved for their commitment to completing these projects on time and within the approved budget.”