SPHS building meetings delayed

SOUTH PORTLAND — Finding $4 million to trim from the long-awaited South Portland High School renovation project is proving harder than some had hoped, causing tension to mount on the building committee tasked with finding those savings.

The building committee was expected to make cuts at meetings this week, but those meetings have now been postponed while the project engineer, Portland-based Harriman Associates, continues to negotiate with the low bidder, PC Construction.

The committee is now scheduled to vote on cuts Tuesday, March 27, and Thursday, March 29. Both sessions will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the high school library. In the meantime, some committee members appear vexed that decisions seem to have been made without their input.

“I feel like there’s stuff going on obviously behind the scenes,” said Carrie Hull-Indorf at a March 15 meeting. “We’re not involved in any of the discussions. We have no information on any of it. Frankly, if we can’t discuss things, why do we even bother to have a committee?”

“My understanding was that everything was on the table,” said school board member Jeff Selser, at a March 8 session, “but things have come off the table without the participation of this committee.”

Selser appeared frustrated that Superintendent Suzanne Godin and Harriman architect Dan Cecil told city councilors energy-savings certification was “off the table” as a possible project cut, as is Selser’s proposal to rebuild Beal Gym rather than try to fix the structurally ailing section of the high school.

The high school renovation was budgeted at $47.3 million, including a $41.5 million bond OK’d by voters in November. Administration, engineering and other costs left $39.26 million for construction, but PC's bid, the lowest of four opened Feb. 23, was $43.24 million. That's left school officials scrambling ever since to bridge the gap.

According to Cecil, his firm has worked with PC to hammer out a list of "more than 200" cost-savings ideas. However, Robbins told building committee members Thursday evening that marathon talks have yet to narrow in on dollar amounts for many proposals, leaving nothing concrete to vote on.

"The information, is just not there," committee Chairman Ralph Baxter Jr. told the group. "I understand, I'm frustrated, too, but they're working doing their thing and we've just got to be patient."

“I think everyone is feeling the frustration of having to wait right now,” said committee publicist Justine Carlisle. “We all want all the information. We want it today and we don’t want to wait.”

Following cuts, a final budget will go to the school board April 2 and the City Council April 4.

Baxter said the building committee may also meet the weekend of April 1, if necessary, in order to make the agenda for the school board and council meetings. As long as those votes happen on time, he said, construction on the 33-month project can still being as planned in mid April.