As the final site work for the new Hildreth Elementary School nears completion, NV5 project manager Tom Murphy estimated the final price tag at $52.2 million. That’s about $1.4 million under the original budget estimate of $53.6 million.
At the Feb. 17 School Building Committee meeting, Murphy said Harvard had arranged to borrow (or bond) $34.8 million to cover the town’s expected share of the new school’s cost. But Murphy now estimates those costs will come in at $34.4 million, saving the town about $400,000.
The Massachusetts School Building Authority is paying roughly a third of the overall cost of the new school and will share in the savings. Murphy estimated the MSBA will pay $17.8 million in reimbursements to Harvard, down about $960,000 from the maximum it might have granted the project.
The MSBA has been reimbursing Harvard as construction went along. However, the authority will hold back the last 5% of its reimbursement until the project is financially closed out and audited, a process Murphy previously said takes about six months. So having the surplus $400,000 in borrowing capacity will help the town pay all the project bills without needing to apply for an additional loan while awaiting the last MSBA reimbursements.
All that remains to be done, Murphy said, are a few repairs and a little site work that can be finished in April. A walk-through is scheduled for March to make sure everything under warranty is working as it should be.
School Superintendent Linda Dwight pointed out that the sports field at the new school still needs a fence or stone wall to keep balls from going onto Mass. Ave. And first-grade teacher Pamela Chapman, a member of the building committee, said the barrier is needed to keep children safe as well, lest they be tempted to run after those balls.
Dwight asked if some of the money remaining in the budget could be used for that fence. Murphy agreed it could be included as a change order any time up until the project is officially closed out, with final numbers submitted to the MSBA.
Plans for the sports field originally included a barrier by Mass. Ave. But it was dropped, partly for budget reasons and partly because the field’s elevation was uncertain until grading was completed.
Building Committee Chair SusanMary Redinger said the school district will need to get quotes on the cost of building the fence or wall. Committee member Ron Ostberg commented that chain link fencing “is the bottom of the barrel.”
The committee got a second piece of good news at the Feb. 17 meeting when member David Fay reported National Grid had finally turned on the solar electric system for the elementary school. Two months ago, the company had blamed the long delay on “supply chain problems” in getting the necessary bidirectional meter for the school building.
A public celebration for the building’s solar electric system is set for March 8 at 1:30 p.m., with local political representatives expected to be in attendance, Fay said.
