POTTSTOWN PA – Explosive blasting has not yet been authorized, but may be an option, in dislodging bedrock beneath and around the Pottsgrove School District‘s Ringing Rocks Elementary School, as the building on Kauffman Road, Pottstown PA, continues to be expanded and renovated.

Demolition work late last year at Ringing Rocks.

District Clerk of the Works Tom McGrady, hired to oversee the project on Pottsgrove’s behalf, said last week its site sub-contractor was “pushing for blasting” because it had already damaged several pieces of equipment trying to move underlying rock. “Essentially, they’re frustrated,” he said of the excavation crew.

The subcontractor, under the direction of general contractor E.R. Stuebner Inc., has the contractual ability to use dynamite or other explosives to complete its work, McGrady acknowledged.

The district Board of School Directors, which learned of the situation during its Jan. 18 meeting, demanded to be notified before any use of explosives was scheduled.

The problem, district Business Administrator David Nester said, is that Ringing Rocks Elementary was built into the rock-laden face of the Kauffman Road hillside. The rock shelf extends north, eventually reaching Lower Pottsgrove’s famed sub-volcanic sonorous rocks that make a ringing sound when struck by a hammer. The school is named for them.

Difficulty in removing that rock, and other unsuitable material, to pour concrete footings and foundation components for the school’s $15.6 million reconstruction was anticipated, Nester said, and challenging. The use of explosives may eventually be necessary, he conceded, and because it is allowed under contract may also be out of the district’s hands.

“I can’t imagine neighboring residents want that,” board President Michael Neiffer said. Neither, it seemed, did other board members, several of whom shook their heads during the discussion. Firmly objecting to blasting “is a stance we have to take” with the contractors, Director Fred Remelius added.

Stuebner officials and McGrady are urging the subcontractor to keep at the excavation using other methods, but McGrady added that state agencies had already issued the required permits should blasting be needed. “If done properly,” he said, “it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“The public relations aspect of it falls to us, though,” Nester said. Neighboring property owners would have to be contacted and notified, as would the district’s insurance carrier. It is unlikely, Nester added, that the district would be insured against any adjacent property damage that might arise from the use of explosives.

McGrady has already ordered what he described as a “full seismic work-up” of the affected area. Until it is received and examined, he said, “nothing can be done by anyone yet.”

Related (to Ringing Rocks Elementary School renovations):

• Blasting A Possibility, But Not Yet, At Ringing Rocks
• Few Change Orders, So Far, At Ringing Rocks
• Rigs Arrive At Ringing Site To Drill Deep For Geo-Heat
• Exterior Demolition To Begin At Ringing Rocks
• Digging’s Done, Now Real Work Starts At Ringing
• Ringing Rocks Ground-Breaking Set For Thursday
• After Month’s Work, Pius Deemed Set For Ringing Pupils
• Ringing Rocks Bids Accepted, At $1.5 Million Less
• Final Words On Ringing Rocks: Okey-Dokey
• Ringing Rocks Gets Final Plan OK
• Borrowing Authorized For Ringing Rocks Project
• Pottsgrove Signs Pius Lease For Ringing Students
• Pottsgrove Authorizes Pius Lease For Ringing Relocation
• Call Goes Out For Ringing Rocks Construction Bids
• Board OKs Ringing Rocks’ Preliminary Plans
• School Vestibule Design OK; No Decision On Rocks’ Relocation
• Ringing Rocks Plan Approval Held Until May
• Ringing Relocation Decision Deferred Again
• Township Legal Move Saves District Time, Money
• Economic Tales, Exec Sessions, And Long Night At Pottsgrove
• Geothermal Now ‘Locked’ Into Ringing Re-Build
• How Estimated Costs For Ringing Shape Up
• Less Is More In School Project, Planners Learn
• Bids Sought For Ringing Project Asbestos Removal
• Ringing Relocation Decision Possible In Two Weeks
• Restaurant, Ringing Projects Win Conditional Uses
• Ringing Rocks, Restaurant Hearing Topics Tonight
• Pottsgrove Student Enrollment: Up? Yes. Down? Yes Again
• Green Discussion At Ringing Results In Red Faces
• Pottsgrove, Archdiocese Still Discussing Pius Lease
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Discussion Set For Tonight
• In The Ringing Rebuild, Whither Pius?
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Plan: Modulars At MS
• Ringing Rocks Construction Cost Hearing Tonight
• Planners OK Ringing Rocks Land Sketch
• District Sets Dec. 3 Hearing On Rocks Budget
• Pottsgrove Asks State Help To Pay For Ringing Re-Build
• As School Opens, Progress On Ringing Rocks’ Project
• Surprise Enrollment Spurs Demographic Interest
• District Assembles Ringing Rocks Planning Team
• District OKs Architect Negotiations
• Consensus On Ringing Renovations: $16M
• Ringing Rocks Proposals Aired Tuesday
• Ringing Rocks Re-Examined April 14
• Pottsgrove To Trust-But-Verify On Ringing Plans
• Ringing Rocks Plans Take Another Step
• No Shortage Of Ideas At Pottsgrove Meeting
• Weigh In On Pottsgrove Renovations
• Framing The Rocks Discussion
• Response Mixed To Pottsgrove Improvements
• District Invites Public For Study Results
• A Different Rocks, But Only As A Concept

Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ meeting of Jan. 18):

• Blasting A Possibility, But Not Yet, At Ringing Rocks
• Challenge To Pottsgrove Budget Advisers: 10 Percent
• Best Guesses, Deficit Launch Pottsgrove Budget Season
• Pottsgrove Canceled Tuesday School Board Meeting
• Few Change Orders, So Far, At Ringing Rocks