BET approves $6 million interim for Central Middle School after unanticipated fire-suppression costs

The Board of Estimate and Taxation's budget committee voted to approve a $6,000,000 interim appropriation for the Central Middle School project after hearing that lower-than-expected water pressure forced the addition of an on-site fire pump house and tanks and depleted the owner's contingency.

Joe Rossetti, chair of the Central Middle School building committee, told the BET that the town received updated water-flow testing from Aquarion during shop drawing review and discovered flow closer to 400 gallons per minute — roughly half the amount designers had used. "We therefore had to now have to build a facility, a pump house, and tanks that have water on-site," Rossetti said, identifying the resulting fire‑suppression and alarm work as a major unanticipated cost. He said the specific fire‑system package and related items total about $3,175,000, which was funded from project contingency in current estimates.

Rossetti and the project's owner's representative walked the committee through a three‑column supplemental funding table showing original contingency, uses to date and the requested supplemental. The presenters said the project began with approximately $5.7 million in owner's contingency, and that gross contingency uses to date sum to roughly $7.0 million, with credits and internal GMP reallocations reducing the net exposure. After the interim request is approved and projected uses are applied, the team's estimate leaves about $1.6 million in remaining owner contingency.

The building committee and the project's owner's rep said the project remains on a compressed schedule: "The current building completion date is August 4," Rossetti said, with occupancy and follow‑up inspections planned before the school opens later in August. Presenters warned that demolition testing and earthwork for the playing fields present additional unknown exposures that could require further contingency draws if testing reveals asbestos or unexpected rock and soil conditions.

BET members praised the building team's oversight but pushed for tighter conditions on the interim release. Chair Laura said she did not want to release the entire $6 million at once and asked the team to agree on reporting or milestone conditions to give the committee leverage to protect town funds. Harry Fisher and other members endorsed the project but asked for interim reporting on change‑order negotiations and for the committee to receive itemized accounting of any drawdowns.

After discussion, the BET approved the interim appropriation "subject to condition" and the committee's motion passed as recorded by the clerk. The BET also moved and approved a bonding resolution to support the interim appropriation in keeping with prior practice; members noted the possibility of revisiting debt maturities at a later date.

What happens next: project staff will continue on‑site testing once the existing school is vacated, pursue contractor credits where possible, and provide the BET with the additional cost breakdown and proposed conditions for phased release before the regular Monday meeting, as requested.

Why it matters: the supplemental request doubles the owner's contingency relative to the original appropriation and addresses a site‑specific, nonroutine exposure tied to town water supply limitations. The committee's conditional approval aims to balance the project's pressing schedule with oversight of public funds.