Impact
WARD / COUNCILMEMBER: 4 - Charles Welch
$ IMPACT: N/A
Title
Approval of extended work hours for General Contractor Balfour Beatty and the Construction of King Springs Elementary School.
Body
ISSUE AND BACKGROUND:
Balfour Beatty, the general contractor for the construction of Kings Springs Elementary School, is requesting an extension of normal work hours for the completion of the school building prior to the start of the new school year (August 3, 2020). Due to the adverse weather conditions of the past two months, the project is currently behind schedule and additional work hours are needed to catch back up. The applicant is requesting the following work hours on the weekend:
• Saturday - 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. from February 29th to June 7th
• Sunday - 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. from February 29th to June 7th
The proposed work hours would amount to eleven additional work hours per week and fifteen additional working days (or 165 hours) from February 29th to June 7th. The request is to ensure main school building and sitework are completed prior to the students returning to campus for the start of the school year (August 3rd). Balfour Beatty has stated that there will be site supervision during extended work hours to ensure all work is performed within the criteria allowed by the City.
The subject property is located on the northeast quadrant of the intersection of Reed Road and Gann Road and is bounded on all sides by single-family residential development.
Per the City of Smyrna Code of Ordinance Section 46-1(b)(2)(d), noise in excess of 60 dBA for the construction of a structure shall only be permitted between the hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and no work is allowed on Sunday. The intent of the ordinance is to protect surrounding residential properties form the noise created by construction on-site.
RECOMMENDATION / REQUESTED ACTION:
Community Development has reviewed the request for extended work hours and has concerns over starting work at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings due to the proximity of the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The large construction vehicles and equipment would disturb surrounding residents on Saturday and Sunday mornings when everyone is typically home. Community Development is supportive of starting the work hours at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The request for early start times on the weekend is due to a labor issue. The 9 a.m. start time is pushing laborers to go to other municipalities with earlier times, so they can get a full day of work in and end at an earlier time. The outcome of Community Development’s proposal would be eleven additional work hours per week and fifteen extra days of work during the proposed time period. The start and end times have been adjusted, but still reflect the eleven total hours originally requested by the applicant. Therefore, Community Development recommends approval of the following work hours:
• Extension of work hours from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday from February 28, 2020 to June 7, 2020 for the completion of the main school building and the sitework.