A contract for more than $6.4 million to build an addition and renovation project at Bristol, Maine's Consolidated School was won by Portland's Optimum Construction Co. during a meeting of the Bristol School Committee on Jan. 4.
The following evening, about 25 people attended a presentation to hear the details of the project at the Bristol Consolidated School (BCS) gymnasium, according to the Lincoln County News, a local news source on the south coast of Maine. The school is located at 2153 Bristol Rd. in Pemaquid.
The latter meeting's speakers included Bristol School Committee Chair Darin Carlucci, Lynsey Johnston, superintendent of the Central Lincoln County School System (AOS 93), BCS Principal Jennifer Ribeiro, and Forrest Butler and Andy Jackson, representatives from Peaks Island-based Dovetail Consulting, the managers of the project, each of whom took turns explaining the project, its goals, and the bid process and construction timeline.
AOS 93 serves seven rural communities on Maine's mid coast: Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta, Jefferson, Newcastle, Nobleboro, and South Bristol.
The bid from Optimum Construction will need formal approval by voters at Bristol's annual town meeting on March 20. Voters in the community of about 2,800 people also will consider an $8 million bond to finance the project, the county news source reported.
Project to Greatly Enhance BCS
In outlining the goals of the school's construction project, Carlucci said the work will provide increased security to students and staff, save on annual costs by improving electric and heat efficiency, make the building and its bathrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), increase space for students, and build a cafeteria that can double as a multi-purpose community room.
He added that the BCS will net two new classrooms, as well as three-phase power to the building, and heat pumps will be installed throughout the structure.
"We're looking for a more flexible, contemporary feel for the school," Carlucci said, before noting that a similar project was proposed 20 years ago but voted down by the town.
"Unfortunately, the same issues are still here," he said.
The News reported that among them are an increase in the student population and the school's need for a new cafeteria, a sprinkler system throughout the entire building, and a replacement for what Carlucci called its "antique" air exchange system.
He told the Jan. 5 gathering that the project is a "modest proposal" just to cover the BCS building's basic needs.
When she spoke, AOS 93 Superintendent Johnston explained that the school's classrooms will undergo renovation and expansion to create more space for students, including a dedicated art room, spaces for occupational and physical therapy, and a 1,061-sq.-ft. technology space for activities related to STEAM, an integrated approach to learning science, technology, engineering, arts and math subjects.
"Many of our kids want to do hands-on projects and learn differently," she told those attending the meeting. "We think the benefit to the students will be immeasurable."
The main need, according to Ribeiro, the principal at BCS, is for a dedicated cafeteria and kitchen space as classrooms will be converted into a cafeteria and kitchen that also will serve as a multi-use community space on the northeastern corner of the building. A separate entrance will allow for the space to be used for municipal functions such as voting while school is in session.
An addition on the northwestern corner of the building will include new classrooms and bathrooms and replace the portable classroom currently found behind the building, she explained.
Ribeiro also said a new teachers' room will be created through the renovations to allow a space for staff to meet other than in the library.
Crews Likely to Begin Work in 2024
Because of a year-long lead time on some items due to supply chain issues, like the three-phase electrical power, Dovetail Consulting's Butler explained that construction on the BCS expansion cannot start until spring 2024 at the earliest, assuming the project is approved at Bristol's March town meeting.
If the measure succeeds, the new addition will undergo construction during the 2024 school year and the renovations will primarily occur that summer to avoid any disruption to students' learning, Butler added.
The finished product should be unveiled by winter 2024, he said, adding, "Our whole goal is to make sure this project comes in on time and on budget."
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