NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Gov. Maura Healey took some time out of her campaign swing through the Berkshires on Monday to tour the under construction $65 million Greylock School project. 

 

Hard hat on, the governor got an update on the state's $41 million investment and new school's geothermal system that's being funded through state and federal funds.

 

"You've got a beautiful building here," she said. "Next year, this time it's going to give a lot of people a lot of pride. And I love that it's going to connect up with the Appalachian Trail. It's awesome."

 

The steel shell of the building was almost complete and the concrete fully poured as the governor sidestepped construction equipment with Mayor Jennifer Macksey.  

 

"I know the state was proud to contribute 80 percent, right? About $41 million, and and then we had a little bit more kick in from the Mass Clean Energy Center, too, to help us in heat pumps," Healey said. "Super impressive to see to see all the the union jobs and trades. It's a great paying jobs in the community, and that's wonderful, too. 

 

"And I love what you're doing with the geothermal. You know, big on how do we lower people's gas and electric bills and bring in more kinds of energy. And geothermal makes a lot of sense."

 

The governor's reference to "great paying jobs" was underlined when a worker came up to her to express his support for education and her administration. 

 

"I've been building these schools for 25, 30 years now and this whole company, Fontaine Brothers, they all depend on these schools. So we really do appreciate it," he said in a post recorded on her Instagram, adding, "This school is going to be absolutely gorgeous."

 

The mayor said told the governor that the project has gotten a lot of community support, including from some who had been originally against it. She also described the tree topping event last week when dozens of community members, officials and former teachers signed their name to beam that now holds up part of the preschool section. 

 

"It's super exciting," said the governor, "and I'm proud of all the investments that we make in education and what's happening right here."

 

The governor was probably the most important person to tour the project but not the only state official. 

 

Superintendent Timothy Callahan told the School Building Committee on Tuesday that Isabel Doane, construction project manager for the Massachusetts School Building Authority, visited the site the same day students from the Climate Career Lab were there. The high school students are part of the state Ethos Pathways program to studying climate careers over the summer. They also visited the Williams College Museum of Art project. 

 

"Jeff [Manley] from Colliers and Anne [Queally] from TSKP did a presentation on the geothermal energy project, and the students were highly impressed to the point that we received thank-you notes from their visit," he said.

 

Todd Ashford, project manager for Collier's International, told the committee that the steel structure is about 80 to 85 percent complete and estimated the workers will be on site another two weeks to complete the details. The cross-laminated beams are also on onsite and were expected to start being installed on Tuesday using the crane.

 

"I will say by the time we meet next month, the cross-laminated timber will be in, steel will be complete, and the decking is complete on most of the roof, probably 70 percent of the roof, and the second floor decking is is also welded and complete," he said.

 

"Then we'll start to see cold form framing start. Exterior walls will be framed. That's really your next month. That's your next big milestone is the exterior studs to be installed and the sheathing to follow. So the building will start to get  enclosed in the next month.

 

Committee member Richard Alcombright asked how much of the wood from the old gym were being reused, especially the unsual laminated timbers.

 

Designer Jesse Saylor of TSKP Studio said the timbers were too heavy to reuse by the wood decking had been salvaged.

 

"It's being stored in a construction container on site, and it will be installed in the corridor outside the new gymnasium," he said. "We're also salvaging a bench from the old gym, and so there'll be a bench there in the corridor with the wood decking installed above it as like a soffit feature."

 

Queally, of TSKP, said she gave the presentation to the Ethos students.

 

"That was a lot of fun and it was nice to get these kids into the into construction and let them see what's always possible," she said.

 

"In the meantime, we've also continued to schedule technology meetings with the technology department at the school, and we're actively working on scheduling furniture meetings and layouts with the principal and her team there, and that will be in the upcoming weeks as well."

 

In other business, the committee on Tuesday approved some $4.3 million in invoices, the bulk of which was a fifth payment of $4.1 million to contractor Fontaine Bros. Two change orders authorized by the mayor were for $603.42 for an electrical power change to the elevator and $1,285.23 for a code upgrade for a valve in the courtyard.