Delays affect UFRSD middle school timeline Facility may not reach substantial completion until Sept. 2010 BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer If the Upper Freehold School District can't find ways to make up for delays, the new middle school may not be complete until October 2010. Construction manager Gabrielle Dujue, of Marlton-based Hill International, said that despite the school district's many successes in the project's preconstruction phase, a few minor delays have caused a slip in schedule. "There is a seven-and-a-half-week to eightweek slippage in the project schedule," Dujue said. According to Dujue, the new school will be "substantially complete" in September 2010. She explained that substantial completion means "the school district will have beneficial use of the building" under the provisions of either a temporary certificate of occupancy or a certificate of occupancy. She said that "a majority of the construction work will be complete" by September 2010 and that the contractor would only have punch-list items to finish before the construction could be considered totally complete in October. Dujue said that the initial schedule for the project showed a range of dates from January 2010 to September 2010 as potential opening dates for the school. "I haven't been able to get to the bottom of where the January 2010 date came from, but we are still within the range we originally projected," she said. Dujue said the first delay occurred when the school district could not provide easy access into the site for necessary hydrogeological testing. "The school district only had access to the site through a neighboring property," she said. "We had to get legal approval and agreements in place, which resulted in a four-week delay." Another four-week delay occurred when testing concluded that the initial location chosen for the wastewater disposal bed would not have enough soil permeability to yield the best results. The school district had to find an alternative place for the disposal bed, she said. Another small delay occurred with the school district's submission of the required New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES) application for a permit for the potential on-site wastewater treatment plant, according to Dujue. She said the school district took extra time to submit a complete application so the DEP would not have to return it for modifications. Dujue said the school district sent the application to the DEP on Jan. 4, and by Jan. 7 the DEP had already reviewed and deemed the application administratively complete. Formal review of the application could take four to six months, she said. "The DEP assured us that they would push for DEP approval, as they know we are trying to recover delays," Dujue said. According to Superintendent of Schools Richard Fitzpatrick, if the DEP accelerated the permitting process for the school district, the district couldmake up some of the time lost on other preconstruction phase projects. Rick Brown, a representative of the DEP, said that there is no such thing as fast tracking when it comes to DEP applications. He said a former DEP representative the school board was working with may have "made representations" in this regard. "I'm trying my best to live up to those, but I don't know what to say about fasttracking," he said, adding that he could urge the department to try to get permits out to the school district in bundles. Dujue said that the school district could save time by going out to bid for construction as early as lateMarch, once the project receives DCA approval. However, she said construction could not start without all of the DEP approvals in place. "The school district could have bid documents on the street thatmay requiremodifications with DEP requirements," Dujue said. "It's a risk you have toweigh. The benefit would be saving a significant amount of time." Dujue said the school district cannot put incentive clauses into the contract to encourage the developer to complete the project early. According to Dujue, the project budget "is still on track." She said there would be some slight modifications to account for a potential 7 percent escalation in costs for labor and benefits. She also said that although there have been increases in costs formaterials such as concrete,masonry and roofing materials, there have been decreases in costs for materials such as dry wall and metal studs. "The cost deductions and additions cancel each other out," she said. Dujue said the wastewater component of the project would also affect its overall cost. The board is currently pursuing two paths for wastewater treatment for the site. The board has approved having its engineers design a 40,000-gallon-per-daywastewater facility for the site and is simultaneously trying to figure out if the site could tap into the existing wastewater treatment facility in Allentown. The latter option could save the school district approximately $2 million. Brown said the DEP would rather see the school tap into the existing wastewater treatment plant. "Generally speaking, it's in our interest to not have schools in the wastewater treatment business," he said. "We would rather see schools go into an existing sewer system and sewer plant." Brown said that the flow from the current middle school already enters the Allentown wastewater treatment plant. "Essentially the new flow would be the same flow coming from[the currentmiddle school] building," he said. "The location would change, but not the amount ofwastewater." Brown said he reviewed the flows at the existing plant for 13months and found that the plant treated an average of 163,000 gallons per day in 2006 and has a permit to treat 238,000 gallons per day. "I looked at the flow over a long term and concluded that the plant is 70,000 gallons per day under capacity," Brown said. "The average flow is well below the plant's approved design cap, and even with projected growth it is well within range." The school district has estimated that a 40,000-gallon-per-day capacity would satisfy the needs of the newmiddle school and a future school at the site off Breza Road. Brown said the DEP does not act unilaterally and that the countywould also have to consider any plan for tapping into the existing plant. Such a plan would require a wastewater plan revision, which Brown described "as the simplest thing to do" when compared to the district's other option for wastewater treatment for the new school. "We're encouraging the board to go for the revision process for the wastewater treatment plant," he said. Brown said that ifAllentown pursues a wastewater treatment plan revision to serve the newmiddle school, the school district would not have to. He said that the borough has already made the county aware of such a plan, but that Allentown would also have to file a revision application form with the DEP. Tying into the Allentown plant would also require the school district to obtain Treatment Works Approval for running pipes from the school to the plant. He said the projectmay also require additional permits because there are one or two stream corridors the pipes might have to cross. Brown said that the Allentown plant is an old plant and that the borough's sewer system has old pipes, which allow clean water into the system. "Essentially, the plant is treating clean water," he said. "The Allentown plant needs to continue to work and at some point in time it will have to be fixed and made better." He saidAllentown has expressed interest in upgrading the plant to better treat wastewater. Brown said, "The Allentown plant may not be treating wastewater as well as we would like to see happen, but they have rights to treat water up to that level." With regard to the costs of upgrading the plant, Brown said the school district would help pay for any upgrades as a ratepayer. "When you do your calculations, you take that into account - that you are a user amongst many," Brown told the board regarding a cost comparison between building its own plant and tapping into the existing one. Brown told the board that despite the department's enthusiasm for having the new school tap into the existing plant, the school district can still consider building its own wastewater treatment plant, which would require a four- to six-month review process. In related news, Fitzpatrick said a local farmer had approached him about leasing the unused portion of themiddle school site. The board's attorney said state statute allows school districts to lease land.He said the Department of Education would have to determine if the proposed land use is compatible with the new school before the school district could advertise and accept bids for leasing the land. The attorney also informed the board that it could put restrictions in the contract regarding pesticide use. Fitzpatrick said, "I think it is a wonderful opportunity to stay connected to the roots of this community and to have the kids surrounded by natural beauty." The next work session of the board will take place Feb. 6 and the next regular meeting will take place Feb. 13.