Breaking Ground: Middle School Renovations Now Officially Underway

The rains came down heavy on Tuesday afternoon, threatening to cancel the scheduled groundbreaking for the renovations at DePaolo and Kennedy Middle School, but a break in the weather allowed the celebration to move forward.

For members of Southington’s Middle School Building Committee, it was almost symbolic of a project that had a rocky start but now looks to begin on time and on budget as the planning is complete and the physical work begins on the two 40-year-old schools.

“It’s no secret to anyone that we were off to a rough start,” said Edward Pocock Jr., chairman of the building committee. “But we’ve met the challenges and we’re here today able to kick off this project on time and on schedule.”

Once approved by the town at referendum in 2011, the building committee was met almost immediately with challenges that were unforeseen.

Last fall when tests came back, the Stamford-based environmentalist firm Hygenix, Inc., found that there was an excess amount of PCBs in the two schools – enough, in fact, to require an additional $9 million in remediation beyond budget and an additional cost to remediate a leaky oil tank from 1980 that was never properly addressed.

After value engineering efforts and a resounding approval of an additional $4.725 million for the project, however, the committee and members of Newfield Construction pushed the deadlines and were able to meet the needs to get the project moving on the same time schedule originally discussed in 2011.

“There’s a lot of people to thank, almost too many,” Pocock said Tuesday. “The committee, the school staff and everyone really came together to make this happen.”

DePaolo Middle School Principal Frank Pepe said it’s an exciting time for the schools and he’s looking forward to seeing the work in progress.

“When you look at all the challenges they’ve had, to be at this stage now is truly amazing. It’s the start of something new here,” Pepe said. “For them to be here, and to be bringing this project to two years instead of three, it’s a benefit for the schools and a true testament to the work put in.”

Although the project’s groundbreaking took place Tuesday, with many town officials in attendance, the real work will begin on Saturday morning, the day after schools let out.

DePaolo Assistant Principal, committee member and town councilor Christopher Palmieri said staff will be working double shifts in an effort to expedite remediation work and fit the schedule into two years. Moving forward, both Palmieri and Pocock said the focus now is to keep a close eye on change orders and make sure the work is done in a quality manner while still reaching for a goal to complete the project by Fall 2015.

“There’s still some work left to be done, but we are prepared to meet the challenge,” Pocock said.

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