By STEPHEN SEITZ
Special to the Eagle Times
LUDLOW, Vt. — Thanks to an unexpected snag, getting the Chester-Andover Elementary School back open before Thanksgiving may not happen. Not only that, another special meeting will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 7.
According to Naomi Johnson, president of the Dufresne engineering group and the project’s chief engineer, one of three electrical conductors proved to be defective.
“The electrical service has issues with the insulation in the wiring,” Johnson told the Green Mountain Unified School District board at a special meeting Monday night, which was held at the Two Rivers Supervisory Union main office in Ludlow.
Back in August, a failed flange flooded the CAES boiler room, after which two classrooms were flooded. The students were moved to Green Mountain Union High School, which is at the southern end of Chester, pending reopening.
The discovery has forced unexpected changes in plans. In order to keep costs down, plans had been to use two conduits, one for communications and one for electrical service. The board decided to spend about $20,000 for M&M Excavating of Chester to put in four conduits (two electrical, two communications), even though insurance may not pay for all of it.
“We may have to use transition funds,” said Meg Powden, the Two Rivers superintendent.
The situation means that some of the electrical work needs to be re-bid. Johnson said she solicited four bids, but has received only two. Those will be opened sometime today.
Vice chairman Joe Fromberger said, “I don’t want to authorize any work before I see the numbers.”.
The board then decided to hold the next special meeting at Green Mountain Union High School at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The snow removal contract is also on the agenda.
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