Middletown Area SD board approves construction change orders, PPL electrical contract and UGI right-of-way agreement

The Middletown Area School District Board of School Directors on May 20 approved construction change orders and several utility and communications contracts tied to the district’s elementary-level building project, and school operations staff warned the PPL relocation work could produce a campus power outage in June.

Board members approved change orders for the new elementary building and a motion to contract with KIT Communications for data, cabling and security construction services that were not included in the original bid specifications. The board also approved a $70,707 contract with PPL Electric Utilities for an electrical backbone extension into the campus and authorized a right-of-way agreement with UGI Utilities Incorporated to permit gas infrastructure across district property.

Mister Meiser, an operations staff member who briefed the board on the project, said the slab-on-grade for the first floor is complete except for one section, decking and portions of the second floor are underway, and roofing should begin soon. “Currently, at our contingency, we are at 10.61% of our contingency,” Meiser said when asked how much of the contingency funds had been used so far. He said contingency funds are intended to be roughly 2% of total project cost and that the project team is tracking change orders closely to keep costs under control.

Meiser pointed to one specific savings on alarm systems, saying the district’s contractor Crabtree had budgeted nearly $160,000 for burglar and fire alarm systems but the district was able to contract a combined system for about $46,455, reducing what had been a larger line item in early budgets.

Board members also discussed PPL’s planned relocation of a power pole and associated wiring. Meiser said the relocation is needed now to avoid a longer shutdown next summer when Reed Elementary is renovated. He told the board that the district is expecting a multi-week outage during the work — “anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks” — and that the outage could affect the middle school and the Robert Reed building. The district has notified organizations scheduled to use district facilities, including G and G Dance Studio and Sharon School of Dance, and staff said they are preparing contingency plans and alternative sites where possible.

All motions on the construction and utility items were approved by voice vote. The agenda listed the KIT Communications contract and the PPL and UGI agreements; specific dollar amounts were disclosed for the PPL contract ($70,707) and the alarm change-order example (about $46,455). The KIT Communications contract amount was not specified in the public remarks.

Board members said they will continue to monitor the project schedule and contingencies and will schedule a meeting with PPL to refine outage timing and mitigation steps.