At the Whitehall-Coplay School Board meeting May 4, James Hanna, project manager for D’Huy Engineering Inc., gave the board an update on the construction occurring in the Whitehall-Coplay School District.

As Pennsylvania school districts face the very real possibility of state and local revenue cuts and budget deficits due to the impact of COVID-19, the school board has been discussing its three construction projects.

The stadium and field house improvement project and the Whitehall High School renovations and additions project are both in the construction phase, while the new elementary school is still in the design stage.

WCSD administration and D’Huy spent a great deal of time developing a plan to allow construction to resume safely on both of the active construction projects. Contractors and visitors to the work sites must follow guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Pennsylvania Department of Health and Gov. Tom Wolf.

Contractors return to work May 7 and will start increasing their resources to the stadium and WHS projects this week.

Contractors will begin to update project schedules to evaluate the effects the statewide shutdown has had on their timelines. Though work has been delayed, the closure of schools will allow contractors to make up some of that lost time.

The stadium improvements became necessary due to the poor condition of the field, which will be improved by replacing it with artificial turf. The current field has become too expensive to maintain, and using artificial turf will allow more school programs to use it. The bleachers and press box need repairs, and certain safety and code concerns must be corrected.

Currently, the team rooms don’t have enough heat or ventilation, the field house roof is at the end of its life cycle and the HVAC equipment in the field house is no longer energy efficient and is not allowing the required fresh air exchange. A new stormwater system will need to be installed along the west property line. The stadium parking lot lighting is dim and needs to be replaced due to safety concerns.

The timeline for the project was originally March-August, but since construction was halted across the state, it is hopeful the stadium will be finished by September.

Bids for the stadium update were taken March 9, and the school board approved both the bids and the start of construction.

“The athletic department made the facility available to contractors before the summer peak season, hoping to increase the competition, and that strategy worked,” Hanna said.

On March 16, a notice to proceed was issued, and contractors immediately began working on a schedule, acquiring resources and materials and finalizing agreements with subcontractors. Most materials and equipment have already been ordered and are set to be delivered, including artificial turf, stadium and field house lighting, stormwater piping, liner and fill, the bleachers and press box, metal siding and roofing, steel framing and HVAC equipment.

The demolition phase for this project has already begun, and terminating the project at this point could possibly add more than $400,000 to the total, because the structures and the site would have to be repaired in order to be used. The district would also remain financially responsible for materials already set to be delivered.

“We’re going to have to take delivery on those and pay for them because they’re project specific,” Hanna said.

The total cost of the stadium project is $6,625,493, with a $2,219,075 balance remaining from the contractor’s contract and $260,883 in soft costs such as administrative fees and contingency and financial costs.

If the project were to be put on hold, the uncommitted cost, the amount not yet committed to materials or labor, would be $2,079,958, after the $400,000 needed to restore the facility to a usable condition.

According to Hanna, the cost of terminating the contract now could entail expensive litigation costs.

The construction of the new elementary school is on hold indefinitely due to financial reasons, Hackett said May 5.