NORWAY — By this time next year, Oxford Hills Technical School students in the plumbing technology and electrical training programs will start classes in a simulated classroom for hands-on experience.

The electrical program was launched at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year in partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 567 in Lewiston. Three students commuted to the union’s work site two days a week. Eight are enrolled for the coming year.

The project is being funded with a $2.1 million grant from the state as part of its Maine Jobs and Recovery Plan. The grant was announced by Gov. Janet Mills in December 2022 and received federal approval in March. Voters in the eight towns of the Oxford Hills School District and in Buckfield, which sends students to the school, overwhelmingly approved the grant in June.

Four contractors successfully applied in a bid process administered by Harriman Architecture and Design, and Benchmark Construction of Westbrook was selected with its $1.85 million officer.

The grant requires that all work be completed and the money spent by July 2024.

According to technical school Director Randy Crockett, the other bidders were Great Falls Construction of Gorham, Optimum Construction of South Portland and Blane Casey Contractors from Augusta.

“We have a letter of intent with Benchmark,” Crockett said Tuesday, adding he expected the the contract would be signed in a few days.

Harriman was hired to design and oversee the project, acting as general contractor for the site work and building systems, and as clerk of the works.

“We anticipate that the building will be finished by March,” Crockett said. “A bit of exterior work will be done later in the spring. It will be ready for use by students at the start of the 2024-25 academic year.”

Once the grant was accepted, Maine Vocational Region 11, which is the umbrella of the technical school, and Maine School Administrative District 17 had to negotiate terms to locate the building on the grounds of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, which straddles the Norway-Paris town line. The school district owns the property, but the technical school will own the building.

The school is part of the high school building.

The new building will be on the south side of the high school campus in Norway. It will be near a pad that has been dedicated to an annual modular home construction project for OHTS’ Building Construction and Technology Program. That program is a partnership between the school and Turnkey Homes of Oxford and Hammond Lumber. Crockett confirmed the modular home project will continue this year.

The longstanding agreement between the technical school and high school is a 60/40 split for maintenance, upkeep and improvements. With the new building, Maine Vocational Region 11 will be responsible for all utilities and installation expenses. MSAD 17 will be responsible for providing seasonal maintenance, services and communications and networking systems.

All permitting was approved by the Norway Planning Board.

“We are anxious to get started on construction,” Crockett said. “The planning always seems to take forever.”

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