CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield Area School District Board of Directors will save $109,241 on the additions and alterations to the Clearfield Area High School after approving change orders to two contracts with Leonard S. Fiore Inc. during Monday night’s meeting.
The first contract consisted of nine, different change orders that resulted in a total deduction of $91,241. Of those the flooring changes resulted in the greatest deduction in the amount of $61,267, according to Charles Knauff, construction administrator.
Knauff explained that he and Rick Bunning, director of buildings and grounds, determined they wanted to substitute epoxy floor finish in the kitchen and adjacent spaces in lieu of a quarry tile finish and in toilet rooms in lieu of ceramic tile. He also said the epoxy floor finish would be deleted from the plans for the wrestling rooms, as it didn’t make sense to put in flooring to be covered by mats.
When asked by board member Gail Ralston, Knauff said they proceeded with the flooring change to the epoxy finish primarily for safety reasons. He said the epoxy floor finish was safer, equally as durable and had a similar lifetime.
The second contract change was for the paving and site work at the high school and resulted in a deduction of $18,000, Knauff said. The contract was changed to substitute the asphalt bituminous mix design containing recycled asphalt products in lieu of a specified mix design.
The substituted mix design will have a three-year, non-prorated warranty to correct and repair any defects as per Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc.’s letter dated May 10, according to the construction documents.
So far as the high school project, Knauff said work is continuing, and there’s an enormous amount of work to be completed. However, the contractors, he said, felt pretty confident they would meet the requirements to gain occupancy by the end of the week. Knauff said he wasn’t convinced, saying it is still “a long shot.”
Regardless, he said the elevator inspection was scheduled for Thursday. He said the occupancy inspection was scheduled for Friday and provided there aren’t any safety issues, they shouldn’t run into any problems. He said in a “worst case scenario,” they would have to work the weekend to resolve any problems and try again Monday to gain occupancy.
“It will be close,” said Superintendent Terry Struble. “. . . Hopefully, it all goes well and it turns out positive.”
Struble said flooring and ceiling work was completed in the cafeteria. However, he said there was still some remaining wall work and equipment in the serving area. Food Services Director Jeff Kavelak said because his staff wouldn’t get started until school begins, they would phase into the new food court setup.
He said the food court would eventually have five, different stations, and they would start off with two and then phase in the others. He said they would do it in phases, so that the staff and the students could familiarize themselves with the new cafeteria setup. He estimated they would have all five stations available within two to three weeks.
Assistant Principal Heather Prestash announced that ninth grade orientation would be held the first day of school. All student schedules, she said, would be mailed today with a map of the high school building. She said they were asking students to be attentive to their first period classes and to report to that room for enrollment. Prestash said afterward the freshman class would meet and then be given a tour of the building.