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Click here to see live streaming video of the new construction. (Stream is active for 4 mins at a time)

Week of April 12, 2010

MSAD #22 Board of Directors approved J & J Contractors, Inc. of Lowell, MA as the general contractor for phase 2 building construction by awarding a letter of intent on April 8, 2010. J & J’s bid falls $1.7 million below budget. Potentially, after consultation with the Department of Education in April, all alternative bids could be included in the building project.

All file sub-bidders are Maine-based companies and include the following:
Hughes Brothers (Hampden) -- phase 2 site development
Ted MacLeod Water Wells (Hermon) -- geo-thermal
Maine Masonry (Portland area) -- masonry
Porter Drywall (Portland area) -- drywall
ABM Mechanical (Bangor) -- mechanical
E. S. Boulas (Portland area) -- electrical

Submittals for ordering supplies and materials will begin shortly and J & J Contractors will be onsite on or before June 1.

Week of May 3, 2010

J & J Contractors and WBRC have begun formal communications and meetings about the Hampden Academy project. At various times, these meetings have already included MSAD #22 and its representative, Mel Cole, and will also involve Sargent Corporation, who continues to do site work. The meetings are focusing on such topics as clarifying logistics of set-up on site and learning communication software. WBRC has now hired its representative, Bruck Wilder, who has served as a Clerk of the Works for WBRC in previous construction projects. Wilder will be a regular participant in communications between WBRC and J & J as well as monitor progress on site. J & J may be on site as early as mid-May.

MSAD #22 and WBRC continue to meet with the Department of Education (DOE). Presently, DOE has agreed that state monies will pay for some alternative bid items: the white EPDM roof (rubber roof) and part of the upgrades to the southern entrance from Reeds Brook, including widening the road to accommodate two-way traffic and constructing 92 extra parking spaces. Meeting with DOE continue to focus on budget refinements.

Week of May 31, 2010

Sargent Corporation continues site work for the new Hampden Academy with the following timelines projected for their ongoing work:
June 11: installation of drainage piping and related work completed
June 23: site grading completed
July 19: athletic field construction begun
Sep 1: electrical site work completed

J & J Contractors have begun mobilization with the following timelines projected for their initial work:
During June: foundations to be poured
By July 1: steel to begin to be erected

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At this transition point from continuing site work to the beginnings of building construction, a look back to the ceremonial groundbreaking on September 9, 2010 is appropriate. At that ceremony, Board of Directors Chair, Tim Pease, made the following comments about the significance of the event:

As I thought about what to say today, I researched the origins of groundbreaking ceremonies. I learned that anthropologists and archeologists believe groundbreaking ceremonies predate the written word. Evidence has been found that all ancient cultures had such ceremonies. In ancient cultures, the origin of all these ceremonies involved our human desire to create sacred space. Groundbreaking ceremonies for new buildings symbolically 'consecrate' the site, thereby creating sacred space. The ritual of breaking the ground is the fundamental beginning.

And so it is today, in the 21st century, that we are all here participating in a ceremony that is many centuries old. In a few moments, we will be sinking shovels into the earth to commemorate this site. We do so because we understand the fundamental importance of education. We are not creating a sacred space for a building of concrete and mortar, we are creating sacred space for public education. We know that education lifts individuals, and is crucial to our well-being as a society.

There is a Chinese proverb which reads:
If you are planning for a year, sow rice;
If you are planning for a decade, plant trees;
If you are planning for a lifetime, educate.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today because we are planning for a lifetime. No, we are planning for thousands of lifetimes. Over the next several decades, thousands upon thousands of students will walk on this soil and be educated in the building that will be assembled on this spot. Like the many thousands of students that have passed through the Hampden Academy doors over the last two centuries a few hundred yards from here, they will be educated in the finest tradition of our communities. This ground is truly sacred space.

Week of June 21, 2010:

J & J Contractors is now 90% mobilized on site. Construction materials, including rebar (reinforcing bar), are being delivered and basement preparation is underway.

Preparation work for installation of the geothermal fields has begun with the dismantling of the practice football field. Ted MacLeod’s Water Wells will be drilling wells two at a time and estimates that wells will be drilled by November. After completion of the geothermal fields, the practice football field will be re-seeded and operational for the 2011 season. Work on this portion of the construction site can be viewed from behind Weatherbee School.

Bruck Wilder, WBRC’s representative, now has a trailer onsite and is monitoring work on both phases 1 and 2 daily.

Week of July 26, 2010

Phase 1 and Phase 2 work continues, focusing on the following:

• removal of the gravel frost blanket from the building footprint
• construction of retaining walls and pouring concrete for placement of a retaining wall stairway installation of pre-cast concrete site light pole bases and of conduits and grounding for site lighting
• continuation of cut and fill work
• work on the connecting road to Reeds Brook Middle School
• excavation for and concrete placement of interior column footings and piers for portions of the building and for exterior wall footings erosion and sedimentation control measures for the geothermal bore field
• drilling, piping, and capping of several geothermal wells
• installation of site storm drain system

Since the end of the school year, the following contractors and subcontractors have been on site:

• Sargent Corporation
• J & J Construction
• Stone Age Stone Works
• G. R. Roofing Co.
• ABM Mechanical
• E. S. Boulos
• Hughes Brothers
• O’Donald’s Concrete

Week of August 9, 2010

Ongoing construction work on the new Hampden Academy and its site during the last weeks of July included the following:

• Continuation of construction of retaining walls and storm drain system
• Intensified site work at Reeds Brook Middle School (southern access to new high school)
• Continuation of work on new track field with preparation for retaining wall and conditioning native fill material
• Continuation of work on building segments with work on interior column footings and piers, on exterior foundation wall footings, and on exterior wall drains and backfill
• Commencement of work on sanitary sewer line
• Completion of drilling of five geothermal wells with installation of vertical piping and temporary capping
• Resumption of work on new water line at Weatherbee Elementary School

Week of August 16, 2010

During the first two weeks in August, the work on retaining walls, foundation segments, and the southern entrance from Reeds Brook Middle School have all progressed to a point where one can begin to envision readily the final appearance of the site and the building.

Work on the following has been ongoing:

• The entrance road, parking lot, storm drain system, and softball field improvements at Reeds Brook
• Retaining walls and backfilling
• The new 12” water line in the Weatherbee Elementary School area
• Excavation for and backfilling of the building concrete
• Concrete work for three segments of the building with interior column footings and piers
• Geothermal wells:  drilling, piping, and capping (25 of the 156 wells now drilled)
• Filling and grading on new track field
• Phase 1 site retaining walls -- nearing completion

Work has begun on the following:

• Building exterior foundation walls
• Testing and chlorination related to the new water line in the Weatherbee School area
• Athletic field west of the pipeline/snowmobile trail -- stripping and stockpiling of top soil
• Excavation for and installation of underground plumbing for one of the building segments
• Installation of electrical system exterior grounding loop

Because of safety, the construction site is not open for viewing except from public off-site points.
Please contact the MSAD #22 central office for more details.