POTTSTOWN PA – “Dear Santa: We’d like to find a really great present awaiting us during the winter holidays. A brand new-looking school would be nice. Can Ringing Rocks Elementary be ready for occupancy by then? Love, the Pottsgrove School District.”

“Dear Pottsgrove School District: Have your boys and girls been really, really good? If so, no promises, but I’ll see what I can do. Yours, Santa.”

Construction of one of Ringing Rocks' new wings, as it appeared in late April. The building has come a long way since then, and could be substantially completed by August

The correspondence? That’s fiction, of course (even though we all know Santa’s the real deal). But its subject – the part about being able to occupy the renovated and expanded Ringing Rocks school during Pottsgrove’s winter holiday break – well, that could be fact.

District Business Administrator David Nester, asked last week (June 27, 2011) by the Board of School Directors for a progress update on reconstruction of the school on Kauffman Road, Pottstown PA, said he’s encouraged by what he’s seen. “The contractor tells me we’re about three weeks behind schedule because of all the spring rain,” Nester reported, “but the building could be substantially completed by Aug. 17.”

Substantial completion, Nester cautioned, does not equal move-in ready. General contractor E.R Stuebner Inc. must first run through a lengthy series of check lists to ensure every bolt is tightened and every drawer pulls smoothly. It will need to again review the work of various subcontractors. District Clerk of the Works Tom McGrady, who school board members happily say has proved to be a stickler for detail, must also be satisfied.

There could still be a spate of bad weather or other glitches that create delays, too.

Nester, though, was somewhat optimistic. “We can hope for a mid-year, Christmas break move,” he told directors, and asked that they tentatively plan to tour the building during their first meeting of August.

As proof that much must happen between now and then, Nester asked board members to let him know how they can be contacted during July, when the board will not meet. He expects last-minute change orders for Ringing may crop up, and he wants to be able to reach them for telephonic approval if necessary. The board authorized $13,013 worth of changes during its June 14 meeting.

It similarly authorized contractors’ payments. Stuebner was paid $681,181 at mid-June, with an estimated $2.274 million still outstanding. Other payments included those to Landmark Service Co. LLC for heating, ventilation and air conditioning work, $258,810, with a remaining balance of $875,016; MJF Electrical Contracting Inc., $313,222, balance $946,015; Vision Mechanical, $94,981, balance $108,958; and TMI Commercial, $11,520, balance $37,215. The entire project, when completed, is estimated to cost $15.6 million.

Related (to Ringing Rocks Elementary School renovations):

• Ringing Rocks Delivery Could Be On Santa’s Wishlist
• Pottsgrove Board Tours, And Likes, Progress At Ringing
• No Power For Ringing Library Computers ‘An Omission’
• 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’ June 27 meeting):

• Ringing Rocks Delivery Could Be On Santa’s Wishlist
• 12 Personnel Positions Affected By Pottsgrove Approvals
• After The Budget, Pottsgrove Directors Bat Clean-Up
• Pottsgrove Authorizes Special Education Agreements
• Pottsgrove Plans To ‘Look Into’ Student YouTube Vids
• Stripped, Naked And Worked Over At Pottsgrove MS
• Of 7 Final Budget Choices, Pottsgrove Landed In Middle
• Pottsgrove OKs Final Budget: 1.8% Tax Hike, About $74