JBC works to close out Dover High School project

posted on: 7/16/2021

The Dover High School Joint Building Committee (JBC) met this week as it works to close out the $87.6 million construction project.

Even though Dover High School completed its third year of operation in June, there remains a few punch list items for the JBC to accomplish. When the new school opened in August of 2018, there were significant items to be completed, such as the demolition of the old high school and installing athletic fields and parking lots in its place. Now it's down to a handful of items. One significant thing that remains is building an animal pen for Career Technical Center's Animal Science Program. The JBC is working to put that project, estimated to cost $100,000, out to bid soon. Other items include installing a welding sink and fume hood for other CTC classrooms.

The general contractor for the project, PC Construction, officially closed outs its responsibility at the end of 2020. Some of the remaining tasks that PC Construction was initially scheduled to complete were transferred to the JBC. The committee felt it could get better pricing than what the contractor offered, such as new fencing and dugouts for the baseball and softball fields.

One ongoing challenge was resolved in April when Inspection Services issued the Dover High School its permanent certificate of occupancy. The school had previously been allowed to operate under an authorization to occupy the building issued by Inspection Services, allowing school operations as items were addressed. The main hold-up for the permanent certificate of occupancy was a conflict between the fire alarm voice evacuation system and the building's public announcement system that provides direction to occupants when a mass notification is needed. The issue was resolved with code-compliant modifications to the fire alarm system to ensure building occupants could understand the message being delivered over the public announcement speakers.

The funding for the high school remains within budget with $87,332.980.94 expenditures of a total appropriation of $87,622,756.

The JBC continues to meet as it has since 2014; however, the frequency of meetings has diminished as the project nears completion. Mayor Robert Carrier, who chairs the committee, said, "The JBC is proud of their hard work to have such a beautiful school come under budget." Membership on the JBC also includes School Board Chair Amanda Russell, former School Board member and City Councilor Sarah Greenshields, Matthew Severson, Mark Geuther and City Councilor Dennis Shanahan.

To find more information about the JBC with links to its public meeting records, visit https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/boards-and-commissions/joint-building-committee-dover-high-school-and-regional-ctc/