The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved $334,675.01 in bonding for the repaving of the parking lot at South School, however, with only three weeks left to complete the project, there was just a hint of concern that it could interfere with the opening of school on Sept. 3.
The project involves taking the old pavement up, replacing it with new pavement and re-striping the lot. But as Director of Public Works Mike Pastore explained, it involves “more than paving, we’re taking out seven islands, we’re repaving sidewalks, and we’re replacing the granite curbing… “
“The schedule is tight,” Pastore told the board. “The big hold-up will be, if we have a week’s worth of rain, we’re going to have a problem.”
Looking at the positives, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said the town expected bids to come in as high as $400,000, “so this is a good number.”
Pastore said the town got two bids for the project – a third potential bidder couldn’t take the job due to schedule constraints. Grasso Companies was the winning bidder of the two.
Pastore said the contractor has agreed to work weekends, if needed, to help ensure the project is completed before school opens.
He said one benefit of the project is that the removal of the islands will free up 12 additional parking spaces. In addition, it will make the lot less hazardous for snow plow operators in the winter, who can easily hit the curbs for the islands when they’re hidden under the snow.
“Those islands are maintenance issues,” Pastore told the board, adding that not only do they need to be maintained, the reduced wear and tear on the snow plows would mean less maintenance for the town trucks as well.
Future projects in the works for South School include oil tank remediation and roof repairs.