Several Steps Remain to Close Out Elementary School Building Project

Report on the Meeting of the  Elementary School Building Committee (ESBC), Oct. 16, 2026

The Elementary School Building Committee’s (ESBC) most recent monthly meeting took place on Oct. 16, 2026 over Zoom and was recorded.  

Construction Update

Connor Palazzo from Anser Advisory (Owner’s Project Manager) reported that the playground painting is complete and work has begun on the northern half of the site’s playing fields. Underground electrical utilities (for possible future field lighting), irrigation drainage conduits, and the softball field backstop are being installed.

Kseniya Slavsky (also from Anser Advisory) reported that temperature control issues have largely been resolved and that school staff continue training in optimal building operations. The punch list was down to 56 items, many of which were expected to be completed during the two days of school vacation earlier that week. A final round of furnishing orders is expected to be completed soon. Eversource has still not connected the photovoltaic array to the electrical grid and Slavsky expects this to take another month. No mention was made about how much this delay will cost in terms of electric bills or who would be responsible for paying them.

Compliance with the Conservation Commission?

In response to public questions raised at the last meeting about the compliance of CTA (General Contractors) with the Amherst Conservation Commission, Slavsky reported that there has been active collaboration with the commission. She said that “most of the concerns that were raised during a particular site visit with the conservation agent were addressed within the span of the next day and none of them were a significant discharge or significant effort to maintain.” Rick Rice from DiNisco Design (project architects), added that “our civil engineers have been out because the (conservation) agent questioned whether any of the discharge caused any lessening of the system’s capacity. It was all inspected and everything’s in order at this point.”

That reporting, however, does not match the discussions and actions at Conservation Commission meetings in August and September. On Aug. 12, the Amherst Conservation Agent, Erin Jacque, told the commission she had “observed sediment going beyond the erosion controls for probably the fifth time,” despite asking the contractor to take additional actions. While acknowledging that the construction team was working hard on a very large site, she reported that the contractors (CTA) did not initially use the recommended methods and sometimes did not respond to communications. Commission members expressed concern that without proper management now, some outdoor structures being installed, like rain gardens, may not function properly in the future. They did not want to issue a stop order and entertained the proposal for a commission site visit. The commission voted to issue an enforcement order to comply with an order of conditions to install specific erosion and sediment controls by Aug. 24. CTA reportedly did meet that deadline but weekly inspections have been required since then, with slight turbidity noted again on Sept. 16, addressed with repair of a catch basin seal and satisfactory reports for the remainder of September. The Conservation Commission did not discuss the school project at its Oct. 14 meeting.

Future Meeting Schedule

With upcoming winter holidays and construction wrapping up soon, the committee will change to meeting bimonthly starting in November 2026. Chair Cathy Schoen indicated that the town would be approving invoices as needed when the committee is not meeting.

Slavsky reported that although the contactors are doing their best to finish work in this calendar year (parking/driveway hardscape and grading of the playing fields), some of the planting/seeding will need to be done in spring 2027. The contract allows for work to be completed as late as mid-summer 2027. The playing fields are not expected to be usable until spring 2028 because the initial seeding is happening so late in the season.

The Long Tale of Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Wrap-up  

The MSBA still requires many steps before it can pay final reimbursement to the town. A re-commissioning will occur 10 months after construction completion so that items can be fixed while still under warranty. The administrative work of close-out will include a final audit of all invoices. Slavsky said this can take time and cautioned that the “maximum facilities grant” from the MSBA is rarely received in full. She also said the town will decide how much of the remaining contingency, currently nearly $7 million, to hold after construction is completed.

Invoices

Billing for the project is approximately 93% complete (with 7% held in reserve). All invoices (approximate amounts listed below) were approved unanimously.

Anser Advisory (OPM)                               $ 62,000      

DiNisco Design (Architects)                         $   89,000      

CTA Construction (General Contractor)         $ 1,666,000

Allied Testing                                         $   500

Milton CAT (emergency generator)                 $      4,600

Lakeshore Learning (FF&E)                         $     39,000

Red Thread (FF&E)                                  $       4,600

Wakefield Movers                                 $       5,600

TOTAL bills for October 2026                 $ 2,238,000