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The main office at Mount Greylock Regional School, one of the areas where carpet tiles will need to be replaced this summer at the expense of the manufacturer.

Mount Greylock Building Issues to Be Addressed this Summer

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Work at the new Mount Greylock Regional School will continue through the summer months, the School Committee learned last week.
 
During a brief early evening open session on Wednesday, Superintendent Kimberley Grady told the committee that the middle-high school will again be an "active work site" after the planned last day of classes on June 24.
 
The work will include taking care of some items still on the punch list since the school opened for classes in September, but it also includes the replacement of carpet tiles in several areas, including the band room, orchestra room, media center (library), main office, guidance suite and pupil services department.
 
The cost of the work will be covered by the manufacturer of the carpet tiles involved, Grady said.
 
Grady indicated that the tile had an odor because of a manufacturing problem.
 
"We're the first [customer] in North America to have this problem," she said.
 
While the work can be completed during the summer at no cost to the district, it is an inconvenience.
 
"We will be breaking apart rooms that we finally put together," Grady said.
 
In addition to the interior work, laborers will be on site this summer addressing defective sidewalk slabs, including a high-profile spot in front of the main entrance of the school that was the victim of frost heaves in the building's first winter.
 
In other building project business on Wednesday, the School Committee OK'd the creation of a finance subcommittee of the School Building Committee to increase efficiency during the closeout phase of the $64 million addition/renovation project.
 
Grady told the committee that the School Building Committee has been having difficulty finding times when it can get a quorum together for a meeting, but there still are bills to be paid.
 
She said that Williamstown's Hugh Daley and Lanesborough's Steve Wentworth, who served on the School Building Committee's finance working group, have agreed to serve on a subcommittee along with Grady to approve invoices and recommend them for payment.
 
"We are slowed down with the process," she said. "This will speed it up."
 
The members of the committee also got some homework. They were tasked with completing their individual evaluations of Grady and returning the forms by June 3 so their responses can be compiled and the full committee can complete its formal review at its June meeting.
 
In the interim, the School Committee has a third May meeting on the calendar for Thursday, May 23, at 6 p.m.

Tags: MGRHS school project,   

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Williamstown Fire Committee Talks Station Project Cuts, Truck Replacement

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Prudential Committee on Wednesday signed off on more than $1 million in cost cutting measures for the planned Main Street fire station.
 
Some of the "value engineering" changes are cosmetic, while at least one pushes off a planned expense into the future.
 
The committee, which oversees the Fire District, also made plans to hold meetings over the next two Wednesdays to finalize its fiscal year 2025 budget request and other warrant articles for the May 28 annual district meeting. One of those warrant articles could include a request for a new mini rescue truck.
 
The value engineering changes to the building project originated with the district's Building Committee, which asked the Prudential Committee to review and sign off.
 
In all, the cuts approved on Wednesday are estimated to trim $1.135 million off the project's price tag.
 
The biggest ticket items included $250,000 to simplify the exterior masonry, $200,000 to eliminate a side yard shed, $150,000 to switch from a metal roof to asphalt shingles and $75,000 to "white box" certain areas on the second floor of the planned building.
 
The white boxing means the interior spaces will be built but not finished. So instead of dividing a large space into six bunk rooms and installing two restrooms on the second floor, that space will be left empty and unframed for now.
 
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