Northern Lehigh School District on Monday unanimously approved a change order in the amount of $44,680 for work to its high school gym floor.

The change order is from the Performance Based Energy Savings Agreement between the McClure Company and the district, and is for the repair, sanding and refinishing of the entire high school gym floor, with the work to be performed by Miller Sports Construction.

After the meeting, Superintendent Matthew J. Link said that in mid-September, a valve failed in a section of pipe for the HVAC system. The valve was part of the work completed for the new HVAC system installation at the high school.

“One of our maintenance employees during a Sunday evening building check discovered the significant leak in the locker room area just off the gymnasium,” Link said. “He was able to clamp the pipe and then call for support to begin the water cleanup.”

While the cleanup only took a few hours, Link said, “Unfortunately, some water found its way onto the gym floor near the rear entrance despite our efforts to contain it. The water seeped under the wooden floor boards, and within a few days, approximately 500 square feet of the floor began to cup and buckle. The area is not on the playing surface of the gymnasium, and we are able to utilize it for the physical education classes and the basketball season. However, he said the floor must be repaired and returned to its original condition.

Link said the McClure Company, which was responsible for all of the HVAC, other energy savings work in district buildings, as well as the high school science wing renovation and expansion over the last two years, quickly began to work with district Director of Support Services, Greg Derr, to develop a plan to repair the gymnasium.

“After considering several options, the decision was to remove the damaged section of flooring, replace with new flooring, and to maintain a uniform color in paint and finish of the floor,” he said.

So that to maintain a uniform color and finish, the entire gym floor will be stripped, painted, and resealed at a total cost of $44,680, Link said.

“Once made aware of the cause of the leak and damage, the McClure Company immediately committed to making sure we were satisfied with the plan to repair the floor and to cover the entire cost of the repair,” he said. “The cost to hire a flooring company specializing in gym floor repair resulted in (Monday evening’s) deduct change order on the board agenda in the amount of $44,680, and that credit will then be utilized to pay the flooring company. Because the damaged area is not affecting the playing area of the gymnasium, we are going to have the repair work done early in the summer so we do not negatively impact the physical education classes, basketball season, or any other activities in the gymnasium. It is an unfortunate situation that no one could have predicted, but the McClure Company immediately stood by their commitment to ensure we are satisfied with the total scope of work and to cover the entire cost of the repair work.

In December, the board approved two additional classrooms and relocation of lockers in its high school, which pushed the district’s facility improvement project to more than $12 million.

At that time, the board recommended to approve alternates one and two at a cost of $586,216 as an addendum to the Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement dated May 14, 2018, with the McClure Company, with the additional cost to be funded from additional investment earnings during the 2018-19 school year and fund balance during the 2019-20 school year.

It was for two additional standard classrooms where the locker banks were located in the high school, and relocate the lockers to the second floor.

Also at that time, the board amended financial item M from the May 14, 2018, board meeting to read, per the recommendation of the buildings and grounds committee, the board approves the McClure Company to complete all necessary planning and work for Option C, with the addition of the middle school drop ceiling and high school science labs, at a cost not to exceed $11,978,125, due to the $26,615 addition to add another hood for the chemistry lab.

That raised the new total cost of the entire project to $12,564,341.

The energy savings agreement with McClure Company guarantees 20-year energy and operational savings of $5 million.