Essex School Building Committee Moves Toward CM at Risk Vote on May 26

ESSEX — May 12, 2026 — Essex Elementary School Building Committee signals support for construction manager at risk model, defers formal vote to May 26. The committee heard a full presentation from GGD Consulting Engineers on three fossil-fuel-free mechanical system options — air-source VRF, air-source hydronic heat pump, and closed-loop geothermal — all being carried into a lifecycle cost analysis due to estimators by August 11. Facilities staff raised pointed concerns about system complexity and maintenance costs, drawing a contrast between the high school's simple chiller-and-boiler setup and the Memorial School's more layered controls. "The simpler, the better with some of this stuff," said the district's facilities director. GGD principal Dom Piniello said no decisions are required yet and offered to add a gas-boiler-backup option as a fourth scenario at no additional fee. On construction delivery, the committee debated design-bid-build versus CM at risk, with members citing the project's occupied, phased site as justification for the more collaborative model; pre-construction services are estimated at $30,000 to $50,000 from an existing $150,000 budget line. Assistant Project Manager Rachel Rincon announced her resignation from owner's project management firm Doran Whittier, effective approximately two weeks from May 9.