Progress, Preservation, and a Patch of Arborvitae at the School Building Committee
- Richard {Reggie} Smith
- Jul 13
- 4 min read
The Cheshire Ct Phoenix News
CHESHIRE, CT — In a town where historic charm meets modern infrastructure, the Next Generation School Building Committee gathered on June 25, 2026, to orchestrate the final movements of Cheshire’s massive elementary school modernization project. With the new facilities nearing completion and the old Norton School slated for the wrecking ball, the committee tackled everything from multi-million-dollar invoices to the dietary preferences of local white-tailed deer.
Chairman Rich Clavet guided the committee through an dense agenda packed with hyper-local grievances, substantial budget surpluses, and a masterclass in municipal recycling.
The Neighborhood Watch: Drainage, Decibels, and Deer
As the physical footprint of the new schools settles into the landscape, local residents have been making their voices heard. The committee reviewed a flurry of recent citizen correspondence:
The Farmington Brook Overflow: Mike Grove of Farmington expressed concern over a persistent drainage bottleneck near his property. Fortunately for the education budget, Arcadus representative Colton reported that the town, not the school district, owns the issue and is already slated to clear the culvert.
The Norton Cafeteria Hum: Paul Castagna flagged an elevated decibel count coming from the newly activated cafeteria air handling unit at Norton. Colton confirmed the system is currently testing "a bit above" standard thresholds, and a noise abatement plan is on standby if the unit doesn't quiet down post-calibration.
Demolition Dust: Dorothy Ross raised environmental safety concerns regarding the imminent destruction of the old Norton building. The committee assured that state and federal mitigation protocols are strictly locked in, including active water-spraying to trap dust particles during structural collapse.
The Sharon Drive Border: A query from Karen Johnson regarding whether a fence would separate the school from the nine homes on Sharon Drive was met with a "no." The committee noted that the existing natural tree line provides ample privacy for an elementary school setting.
The Great Blue House Dilemma
The most spirited debate of the evening belonged to Jesus Peria, resident of the "blue house" situated precisely at the newly reconfigured parent drop-off loop. After the removal of a significant tree buffer, Peria requested screening.
While Laurel and the architectural team at Tecton floated a proposal for 25 staggered Arborvitae trees at a unit cost of $1,400 from Richards, committee member Chris pushed back sharply.
"You drive around town and you see these lollipops of Arborvitae that are stripped until they're higher than the deer can reach," Chris warned, noting Cheshire's aggressive deer population would make quick work of young saplings.
The committee ultimately rejected placing trees directly on private property due to liability and precedent, opting instead for a scaled-back landscaping sketch strictly on town land.
Salvage Masterclass: Saving History (and $20,000)
In a poignant presentation, the committee reviewed the final days of the old Norton School. The last teacher workday wrapped up on June 11, 2026, triggering an incredibly coordinated, two-week evacuation led by Meyer Moving.
Instead of letting decades of history head straight to a landfill, a massive district salvage operation took place:
Highland, Doolittle, and Cheshire High School absorbed tagged surplus furniture.
Facilities crews harvested dozens of high-end $600 locksets, flushometers, window screens, and LED parking lot fixtures to serve as maintenance "attic stock."
The iconic old Norton library circulation desk was carefully dismantled and will be resurrected inside the youth center at the Cheshire Public Library.
The remaining items were cleared out during a two-day community pickup event.
Because of this aggressive repurposing, the town completely avoided utilizing the $20,000 final disposal budget. Power to the historic structure was officially severed on June 24, and Stanford Wrecking is scheduled to begin heavy demolition on the basement foundation this coming Monday.
By the Numbers: Millions in the Bank
Financially, Cheshire taxpayers have reason to smile. The committee revealed that the town is sitting on over $19 million in unspent contingency funds, not including substantial unspent allowances from Construction Manager OMG.
Project | Budget Encumbered % | Contingency Remaining |
North End Project (Barnum) | 87% | ~$11.37 Million |
North Project (Norton) | 94% | ~$4.6 Million |
While the fiscal health of the project is unprecedented, the state's reimbursement pipeline has proven less fluid. The town is currently processing its fifth pay requisition for Barnum School, but the state has bottlenecked on Norton, taking a full four months to pay out the third requisition.
Finishing Sprints and Warped Wood
Both campuses are racing toward a grand opening. At Barnum, final window cleaning begins this week, sidewalks are poured, and playground woodchips are down. Final paving is slated for late July, with parking lot striping wrapped by the first week of August.
However, Nova Wood Products hit a minor manufacturing speed bump, acknowledging that roughly 150+ interior cabinet doors arrived warped—some by as much as two inches. Nova will replace the defective millwork entirely on their own dime by August 21, 2026, without disrupting classroom move-ins.
Major Invoices and Change Orders Approved:
OMG Requisitions: Approved a massive $3.31 million draw for Barnum and $1.65 million for Norton to maintain the construction burn rate.
PCO 63: Approved $4,300 to swap out carpet for sterile hard flooring in the new nurse's office and calming room.
PCO 65 (The Trash Compactor Battle): After a dispute over "grossly overestimated" electrical labor projections from sub-contractor Ferguson Electrical, the committee bypassed a $34,500 alternate design. Instead, they voted 4-1 (with Dennis dissenting) to stick with the original Option 1 compactor location at a hard cost of $26,730.
PCO 69: Approved $2,132 for a kiln room heat detector explicitly mandated by the local Fire Marshal.
The meeting adjourned harmoniously, with members quietly celebrating a rare achievement in public construction: delivering two state-of-the-art schools on schedule, significantly under bond expectations, and fiercely protective of the town's bottom line.
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