Crews are pushing to complete Colegrove Park School by the July 22 deadline.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — School officials are pushing to get Colegrove Park Elementary School "substantially complete" by the target date of July 22.

"It really seems to be moving along quite well," Mayor Richard Alcombright told the School Committee on Tuesday night. But he cautioned the date had been "aggressive" and there could be a delay.

General contractor PDS Engineering & Construction Inc. began work on the $29.6 million project last spring but the winter's severe cold significantly hampered masonry and structural work. Over the past few weeks, the site's been busier with windows finally going in and scaffolding covering the much of west and southern faces.

Alcombright had assured the School Building Committee last week that "we're your voice and we pound on them every week. ... They do know we have a date and they do know they have penalties beyond that date."

The date's an important factor for teachers and staff who will be moving from Sullivan School into the newly renovated former middle school.

Sullivan School Principal Shelley Fachini had said teachers were beginning to wonder what to do: should they pack up their classrooms or not?

Alcombright said the move wouldn't be last minute and officials should know within the next few weeks if the date could be kept. He vowed to "keep their feet to fire" to finish on time.

School Superintendent James Montepare said there shouldn't be much more than personal belongings for teachers to pack.

"We've gone through Sullivan School, there is very little at Sullivan we are gong to take with us," he said. "Teachers can pick up their personal belongings and go."

Some furniture and equipment may be repurposed but most of the school's furnishings and technology will be brand new.

To date, mechanicals, including fire suppression, are completed and framing and drywall is going up as the century-old building is buttoned up. The mayor said the building is very different than the rough shape it was at the beginning of April.

Dorrie Brooks of Jones Whitsett Architects and Daniel Daisy, representing owner's project manager Strategic Building Solutions, said last week that they have been pressuring the contractor to bring in more hands.

Brooks acknowledged that it can be difficult when subcontractors have to wait for certain work to be completed but thought there has been an increase in activity on the site. She told the School Building Committee that they were starting to see mockups of interior finishes and paint.

"You've got artisans from eastern Massachusetts who are spending a week here working long 14-hour days to get back on the weekend," she said. "They're doing a beautiful job of matching the existing plaster. One of the problems is that you want to do floor by floor but the masons want to do phase by phase."

The budget is still on target and 91.3 percent of the change orders that have come through are meeting the 80 percent reimbursement level from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Both the mayor and Daisy said that level of reimbursement is very high for a project of this size.

Daisy said SBS has rejected change orders that were determined not to be viable.

"We put in writing all the things that they haven't done on the contract ... there's a dozen people at least involved on our end behind the scenes trying to work this through with them and protect the city as much as possible."

Alcombright has been concerned that pushing too hard may compromise quality but School Building Committee member Ronald Superneau said, "we're not going to get cheap quality if they follow the contract rules."

Should the school not be done, the administration will have to determine an appropriate time the move can take place. Any changes in districting and staffing, however, will start at the school year to make the transition smoother.

"It will be spectacular when it's done," said Montepare.

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