Happy 2022! SBC Meeting is on TUESDAY!
The January SBC meeting will be on TUESDAY, January 11th at 7:00pm. Find the agenda and Zoom link here.
Tag: Phasing
Happy October! SBC Meets on Wednesday
The SBC will meet virtually on Wednesday, October 13th at 7:00pm. Meeting and Zoom details can be found here. Check out the new October photo gallery here.
SAVE THE DATES: STATE OF THE TOWN (VIRTUAL) MEETINGS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1st, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
- Public health update
- School building project update!
- Finance Committee update
- Community Center discussion
- Open Forum
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
- Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Anti-Racism (IDEA) Initiative update
- South Lincoln Planning update
- Climate Action Planning update
- Open Forum
Learn more and register for the meetings on the Town website!
At Every Step…
…We are reminded that the school project is a complicated renovation. Along the way, lessons have been learned and are being applied to the second phase of construction. Here is one highly visible example:
When the Middle School was renovated, the existing exterior walls were preserved in many places. Because we are super-insulating the school, it was crucial to carefully apply a vapor barrier on the entire exterior of the building (a.k.a. building envelope). The project team quickly realized that the condition of the existing walls did not provide the high-quality surface needed for the vapor barrier to work properly. After several solutions were explored, the construction team decided to “parge” the exterior of the Middle School. Essentially, a skim coat was applied to the entire building envelope to create a smooth surface. This work required a lot of time and a significant dip into the project’s contingency funds.
That is why the exterior of the Primary School was demolished. New walls will be built incorporating the insulation and vapor barrier required to meet our sustainability goals. This meant using some contingency funds up front for the increase in demolition. The result will provide long-term value to the project.
What will it look like in a year? Looking at the shell and gaping holes in the building, it is hard to remember what it will look like when it is complete in the Fall of 2022.
- The empty space where the original building was demolished will make way for the new main entrance, the Learning Commons, a new 3rd-grade classroom neighborhood, the central Administrative suite, and a new Media Center.
- The remaining buildings will be renovated to hold grades preK-2.
More Information!
Changes to School Campus as Phase 2 Begins
Message from the Superintendent:
Dear Lincoln Community,
Phase I of the Lincoln School building project is nearing completion! In August we will open the grade 5-8 portion of the renovated building and prepare for our students and staff to begin school in their new spaces on September 1, 2021.
Please be aware of the changes occurring on the campus as we move into Phase II of the building project. Through the summer, Brooks and Smith parking lots will not be available to the public. As Consigli, our construction team, moves their operations from the middle school end of the building to the elementary end of the building there will be a gradual transition of the construction site to the elementary portion of the building and their site will set up in the Smith parking lot.
The Smith parking lot will be fenced off as of July 6, 2021 and pedestrian access to the fields and Pollinator Garden beyond the Smith parking lot will not be available until the completion of the project in fall 2022. Pedestrian access to the tennis courts will be available.
Pedestrian access to the Codman pool is through the walking path behind Pod B. Handicap parking is available in the Brooks lot. Parking for the Codman pool is in the temporary modular building and Hartwell parking lots. Please be aware that Lincoln Parks & Recreation camp and school programs are in progress and parking is extremely limited. We encourage car pooling, walking, and bicycling.
Thank you for your patience and understanding,
Becky McFall, Superintendent
What once seemed like “pi” in the sky…
…is now imaginable! We are on schedule to welcome faculty and students to a renovated Middle School in September!
Last week’s warmer days meant melted snow and the ability to get the roofing schedule back on track. As with most aspects of the project, the work moves from west to east, starting with Building D, the Dining Commons. The same is true on the interior, where finishes such as ceiling tiles, wall tiles, light fixtures, and flooring are progressing through the building. Check out the March photo gallery!
As we learned at the SBC meeting, part of getting ready for the fall is planning the transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of the project. Although the target date for the end of Phase 1 is June 22, it will really be a whole series of events that will need to occur before teachers and students are ready to start the school year. Click here for the slide deck presented at the March 10th meeting.
Happy Pi Day, everyone!
New Year, New (Brick) Face
The final layer of the exterior of the building is now being installed on Building D (Dining Commons)! The new brick face layer was chosen to mimic the style of the original building. Significant progress is also being made on the interior finishes. Starting in Building D and continuing through Buildings E, F, G, and H, sheetrock is being installed followed by taping, priming, and painting. Click here to see the new January photo gallery!
At Wednesday’s SBC meeting, the project team presented a progress update and the current status of the project budget. The presentation can be found here. One of the topics was an update about furniture, fixtures, & equipment, affectionately known as FF&E.
- As was discussed last year at this time, the original budget for FF&E was $2.1M. When the construction bids came in over budget, $1.5M was taken out of the FF&E budget to help close the gap. At last June’s Town Meeting, the town voted to increase the remaining FF&E budget by ~$200K.
- With the Middle School opening this fall and the Primary School scheduled to open in Fall 2022, the administrative team is taking a detailed look at what what can be purchased with the existing FF&E budget, what additional FF&E is required for the opening of Middle School, and what can be delayed until there is further funding available.
- In preparation for this year’s Annual Town Meeting (MOVED TO SATURDAY, MAY 15th!), the SBC and the School Committee will begin conversations with the Capital Planning Committee and the Finance Committee about FF&E funding.
Now I know my ABCs (and buildings D, E, F, & G)
The visual image that came out of this past week’s SBC meeting was of waves. Waves of sequential work that are rippling through the school starting in building section D (former Library) and moving west to east through sections E, F, G, and H (Reed Gym).
The work is both on the exterior and interior. On the exterior, the many layers of the building envelope are being put in place: vapor barrier, insulation, concrete block, brick, and roofing. On the interior, there is new framing, new electrical wiring, new piping for heat, plumbing, and fire suppression, and then new drywall installation. Click here to see some recent images.
Other noteworthy information:
- Despite snow, COVID, etc., Phase 1 of the project remains on schedule to be completed by June 22, 2021.
- Snow storms and winter weather are built in to the construction plans and the schedule. In the photo below you can see the heated exterior structures that are built around fresh masonry work to ensure they cure properly.
- The presentation from 12/16 meeting is here.
- The next SBC meeting is on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 at 7:00pm.
On behalf of the SBC Outreach team, we wish you and yours love, friendship, and moments of reflection and joy as we close out 2020 and welcome 2021. See you in January!
Tree Fund Grows
This week, the SBC was very pleased to receive news of a substantial, anonymous donation to the Class of 2020 Tree Fund! The SBC voted unanimously to ask the School Committee to accept this very generous gift!
Another piece of good news is that there have been minimal COVID costs added to the project thus far. The full report from our construction team can be seen here.
New and improved (temporary) kitchen: A temporary kitchen that will serve all grades was installed in the Smith Gym. Here are photos of the old kitchen…
And here’s a photo of new…
Now we learn our ABCs: Finally, if you check out the slide decks from our meetings, you’ll see that Consigli, our construction manager, has divided the building into sections labeled with letters. Here’s a reminder of what the letters mean…
What’s Happening…With Construction?…At Town Meeting?
Construction Phase Begins!
Faculty and staff have been very busy packing up the school! Grades K-4 are getting ready to move into the temporary school and grades 5-8 will move into Smith. On June 8th Brooks will be turned over to Consigli and will officially become a construction site. Between now and then, there is a lot going on. For those who like the details, click here for the 4-week look-ahead schedule.
Town Meeting is Saturday, June 13th, 9:30am, Hartwell Parking Lot
In March, the SBC had planned to request up to ~$2M to restore items to the project that were eliminated when the construction bids came in $3.5M over the final estimates. Because Town Meeting was postponed due to COVID-19 and with the revised guidance of the Finance Committee, the SBC took another look at the proposed list of items and has reduced its request to $829K. Originally, there were 19 items on the list, one of which was restored to the project through negotiations with a subcontractor (yippee!) The SBC looked at the remaining 18 and asked the following questions: 1) What is the decision deadline for the item? 2) Can the item be added at a later date? 3) If it can be added, what is the potential cost impact? Below are two charts that summarize that analysis.
SBC Virtual Community Forums: Thursday, June 4th @ 1:00pm & Monday, June 8th @ 8:00pm – details TBA. Much more information about Town Meeting can be found at http://www.lincolntown.org/1116/2020-Annual-Town-Meeting
Just for Fun…
Town Meeting will be held outdoors under a tent in the Hartwell parking lot. How big do you think the tent is? Click here for the answer.
Building in the Time of COVID-19
Project Progress: Over the past couple of weeks the temporary faculty parking lot has been paved and striped and the construction fencing around the temporary school has been coming down!
Packing Up: This week the Lincoln School staff began the process of packing their classrooms and offices for the upcoming move! With the school closure extended through the end of the school year, the administration worked with our team of architects from SMMA and Consigli Construction to create a plan to begin the move process in order to create more time for construction.
The Lincoln School was originally scheduled to be packed and moved by late June. The revised timeline now brings the completion of the move to the end of the first week of June allowing Consigli access to the building the week of June 8th. This will not affect the already established overall timeline of the project but will provide some additional time to allow for unexpected delays due to unforeseen conditions or potential work delays due to COVID-19. Consigli may begin work that will not interfere with the packing and move prior to June 8th. In order to ensure the safety of all of our staff involved with the packing and move, a comprehensive protocol was developed to make certain there is minimal contact between persons and that all surfaces are cleaned before and after each space is occupied. Small numbers of staff are scheduled throughout the building on specific days and times over the course of three weeks. When teachers are packing, their team members are covering remote learning from home for their students. This is a huge endeavor under challenging conditions. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to our Lincoln School faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as, our facilities and technology staff who are all going above and beyond to make this happen! We will be prepared to start the next school year in the temporary modular building and the Smith portion of the Lincoln School. – from Superintendent Becky McFall
Town Meeting/Town Election Update: The Town Moderator and Board of Selectmen have rescheduled Town Meeting for Saturday, June 13th and the Town Election for Monday, June 15th. As of now, the State of Emergency extends through May 18th. Because Lincoln had already signed a Town Meeting warrant back in February, we are required to hold Town Meeting within 30 days of the lifting of the State of Emergency. This is why the date was set for mid June. To meet the deadlines for holding a Town Meeting/Elections, Town boards and committees need to move full steam ahead to plan for both events. If the state of emergency is extended? Well…at least we’ll be prepared!
Meeting This Week! The SBC is meeting via Zoom this Wednesday, 7:00pm (Details to join the meeting will be posted along with the agenda on Monday. Visit https://www.lincnet.org/Page/4876.) In addition to a construction update, the main purpose of the meeting will be to review the list of value engineered items that the SBC had planned to bring to a vote in March. These are the ~$2M worth of items that were eliminated from the project to keep it on budget, but that the SBC decided were important to the long-term value of the project. At Wednesday’s meeting, the SBC will get an update from the Finance Committee about the current state of Town’s financial picture and discuss how best to move forward with that list.
