Burlington School District is excited to provide the public with a BHS Re-Envisioning update! Appreciating the strong support for the BHS Re-Envisioning Project at the November election, the Burlington School Board immediately formed the BHS Construction Oversight Committee to meet weekly to begin planning, solicit RFPs, and discuss design proposals prior to the selection of the Owner’s Project Manager and the Construction Manager.
The committee consists of the BSD Facilities Director Marty Spaulding, and Executive Director of Finance Nathan Lavery; Black River Design Project Architects John Hemmelgarn and Mark Montminy; BHS Principal Noel Green; Mayor Weinberger’s Chief of Staff Jordan Redell; School Board Chairwoman Clare Wool; Co-Chair of School Board Finance and Facilities, Commissioner Keith Pillsbury; and three representatives of the community: Erik Hoekstra, Partner at Redstone, Peter Bahrenberg, Owner The Bagel Cafe, and Kate Stein, Co-Chair of original, pre-bond, BHS Re-Envisioning Committee.
Members of the committee have spent the past four months meeting with BHS Faculty, Staff and Administrators from the various school departments about program needs and discussing draft design options. The committee has also been working diligently with the design team’s civil and landscape engineers on exterior site configurations for parking, vehicle circulation, bus and parent drop off, as well as pedestrian and biker circulation, and stormwater improvements. We took advantage of the April break to have geotechnical engineers begin investigatory work, drilling and coring inside and outside of the building, and sampling soils and bedrock.
The Burlington School Board has approved the following action items to date:
The committee has recommended, and the Board has hired, CX Associates to perform the CHPS Commissioning Services for the school. BHS will be the first Collaborative for High-Performance Schools in Vermont. This nationally recognized certification (CHPS) fosters well-designed, operated, and maintained K-12 educational facilities that enhance student performance, positively impact student, teacher, and staff health and wellness, and promote environmental stewardship.
The committee has also reviewed pre-qualification materials for companies interested in bidding for the Construction Manager (CM) Services for the Project. After receiving the committee’s recommendation, the School Board has pre-qualified the following construction companies: Engelberth Construction, Inc.; DEW Construction; WhitingTurner-Neagley & Chase; and PC Construction, Inc.
What is Next?
Going forward, there is much work to be done! Members of the committee have reviewed proposals and qualifications for the Owner’s Project Management (OPM) Services and interviewed candidates. They will recommend a candidate to the City’s Board of Finance on April 29th for their approval before bringing the recommendation to the School Board for approval. Our MOU agreement with the City of Burlington outlines that an OPM is to be hired to work with the committee on a detailed design and to develop a site-phasing schedule before sending out the bid packages to the pre-qualified Construction Manager Companies. The CM bids will be scheduled to be received and reviewed for selection of a company to be recommended to the School Board at its June 11th School Board meeting. (VT Agency of Education bid laws required that BSD accepts the lowest bid from the Construction Manager Company.)
On Wednesday, May 8th, members of our BHS Construction Oversight Committee will spend the whole day meeting with and gathering valuable feedback from BHS and BTC Faculty & Staff. The Committee will also continue to weigh the options for whether or not to demolish E building or save it to support programming or assist with swing space for BSD’s Capital Plan. BHS students will also be participating in a school-wide survey similar to one that was sent to BHS, BTC and Horizons Faculty, Staff and Administration after the bond passed. We look forward to continuing to engage and listen to our student and community voices to help lead us in the next phase of our site and school design!
Finally, with all of the work already behind us and still to come, we are excited to announce that site construction is on track to begin May 2020!
Questions?
We want to hear from you. Do you have specific questions about the project? Let us know and we will work to respond!
