Poland – Despite an 11th-hour requirement for a smoke and fire alarm system, construction of an office building in Poland finished in time for school officials to move into their permanent home as scheduled.
“Overall, the project has gone remarkably well,” said Town Manager Richard Chick. “The contractor has been very cooperative.”
A conditional occupancy permit has been issued until the town accepts the building as complete, said Chick. School officials were open for business Monday.
Some exterior work on the building, paving and landscaping won’t be complete until summer, said Chick. The final bill will come then. The project was awarded at a bid of $387,409, which included contingency costs. A total of $350,000 was budgeted.
Construction of the approximately 3,000-square-foot building began in August by R & R Construction Inc. of Lewiston as part of a multi-contract capital improvement project in Poland.
Poland’s Fire and Rescue Department Chief, Willie Rice, noticed in December that the building lacked a smoke and fire alarm system. The system was omitted from the original plan because it was not required by building codes, Chick said.
Selectmen endorsed the alarm system and authorized last month a subcontract for $5,585 with Great Falls Security Systems of Auburn.
“We got it done in two days,” said Todd Olfene, president of the security system company.
The installed systems allowed school union staff to move in. School officials are now free from the moldy basement that sent them packing from their original leased building on Elm Street in Mechanic Falls. They’re also rid of the lingering restaurant smells and fixtures of their most recent quarters in the former Railway Station on Maple Street in Mechanic Falls, as well as the looming threat of a buyer ending that lease arrangement.
“Right now, we’re just as happy as can be,” said Gordon Murray, operations director for Union 29. “This really was a coordinated effort between the contractor and Poland and the union.”
School administration, with its 11 employees and 11 offices, two storage rooms, and one conference room, takes up most of the building.
The town of Poland’s school transportation and bus dispatch staff also use part of the building. The two different staffs share common kitchen and bathroom facilities.
The new office building is a joint venture between the town of Poland and the school committees of the three towns served by School Union 29. Poland, Minot and Mechanic Falls school committees entered into a draft agreement to share construction and maintenance costs and property ownership.
Revisions to the agreement, which spells out how much each town will own and have to pay toward the building’s operation, is waiting for legal review, Murray said.
The town has three other projects near completion at the same site on Aggregate Road and Route 26, also known as Main Street. The total bid for all four projects came in at $2.1 million. The town had budgeted $2.3 million, with funds coming from three different sources.
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