School completion set for Dec. 1, 2012
Construction leaders for the new Hartselle High School meet at F.E. Burleson School Wednesday in a pre-construction meeting. | Clif Knight
A pre-construction meeting on July 13 opened the gate for work to begin at the Bethel Road site of a new $40 million Hartselle High School.
It also answered the question of when the project will be completed. The finish date was scheduled for Dec. 1, 2012. This means the school will have to wait until at least January 2013, to occupy its new home.
The two-hour meeting was conducted at F.E. Burleson Elementary School with about 25 people in attendance. They represented the city school system, Goodwin, Mills and Cawood architects, Martin & Cobey Construction. State of Alabama Building Commission, Hartselle Utilities and several primary contractors.
Two agendas were reviewed and discussed, one of which was presented by Jeff Little, construction administrator for Goodwin, Mills and Cawood and the other by Jim Maynard, project manager for Martin & Cobey. John Vandiver, field inspector for the State Building Commission and Carla Young, AIA, project architect for Goodwin, Mills and Cawood, also participated in the project review.
The agendas covered a wide variety of subjects, each defining the responsibilities of the parties involved in the project. Discussion topics included job safety, daily progress reports, site access and parking, submittal data routing, change orders, inspections and payment procedures.
Hartselle Utilities installed a temporary electric service Thursday morning and workers are expected to begin setting forms for concrete building pads on Monday.
Maynard said he would have boots on the ground during regular working hours Monday through Friday as well as Saturday when work is being done.
Hartselle Utilities installs temporary electricity at the site of the new Hartselle High School. | Clif Knight
“My job is to keep the project moving on schedule and ensure that all work is done right and the materials used are in compliance with the construction plan,” he pointed out.
Contractors and subcontractors were told that no smoking or use of tobacco will be allowed on the school site. Also prohibited will be profanity (English or foreign language), drugs, firearms and alcoholic beverages.
Contractor access to the site will be limited to North Roan Road (Highway 36) and parking limited to the north parking lot.
Job safety was stressed with each contractor being responsible for submitting weekly safety inspection reports.
The work site will have video cameras to record any unauthorized activity during non-working hours and workers will not be allowed access to F.E. Burleson School property. Councilman Bill Smelser confirmed that Hartselle Police Department would step up surveillance of the area while construction is in progress.
The next construction progress meeting will be Wednesday, July 29, at 1:30 p.m.
