The Town of Cheshire Building Committee directed construction staff to pursue an alternate fix after project staff reported that much of the electrical “home-run” wiring on the second floor of the new North End (Barnum) Elementary School had been run using MC cable rather than the rigid conduit (EMT) specified in the contract and in the Connecticut School Building Standards.

Project staff told the committee that the condition was discovered during a September field review and further confirmed during a November walk-through. "This is a mistake," the project representative said, describing the discrepancy as a coordination and execution error involving the contractor and parts of the project team. He said the work is currently code-compliant but does not match the contract’s conduit requirement.

The committee considered two options: require Ferguson (the electrical subcontractor) to rip out the MC cable and reinstall conduit exactly as specified — an approach the project team estimated would add roughly six weeks to the schedule but would be back-charged to the contractor — or accept the installed MC cable and direct Ferguson to install empty EMT raceways that would allow future circuits to be pulled without extensive demolition.

Project staff reported that Ferguson offered a compromise: install the empty EMT raceways at no charge and provide an $80,000 credit to the owner in exchange for leaving the existing MC cable in place. "Ferguson has offered to do all of those EMTs... and they're gonna offer to credit back to this committee $80,000," the project representative said.

Committee members debated schedule risk, cost fairness and long-term functionality. Several members requested additional documentation before final approval of the credit: a room-by-room list of affected spaces, the number of circuits impacted, the proposed routing and EMT sizes, and detailed backup for the $80,000 credit calculation. The committee also asked the design team (Tekton and Arcadis) to review and sign off on any alternate plan.

By consensus, members authorized O&G to proceed with the alternate solution (installing empty EMTs and pursuing the credit) while the team prepares a formal change-order package (a credit PCOD) and a written plan to be circulated before the next meeting. Staff said the plan and backup pricing would be provided for committee review before Christmas.

Next steps outlined by the committee include: a signed, written mitigation plan to be reviewed by the design team; a detailed accounting of affected rooms and circuits; formal PCOD documentation showing the credit calculations and EMT installation scope; and confirmation that the approach will preserve the July turnover targets for the project.

The committee emphasized that, if at any point the alternate solution compromises code compliance or the building turnover schedule, staff should pursue full remediation (rip-out and reinstall) with all contractor back-charges as necessary. The committee’s direction preserves schedule momentum while creating a documented route to restore the contract’s future-proofing intent.