Decision time coming for track, library, field alternatives

School board needs to decide what to pay for in new school

A list of add-ons for a new high school and technical center in Redstone needs that aren't paid for in the current budget will force some difficult decisions when the school board meets again Sept. 12.At the top of the list, the school board needs to decide whether or not to budget $145,887 for equipping the new school library.While the top price for the Redstone facilities has been established, the $28,780,000 figure does not include a list of 25 priority items that rely on fund-raising and will be added back into the project if the school building comes in under the contracted price or if any of an assortment of contingency fees valued at $1.3 million are left over.The board needs to make a decision on six of its priorities on Sept. 12, totaling over $300,000.The items are:$50,000 for underground drainage and grading of the running track. $51,000 for loam/turf establishment on a portion of the athletic fields to include stripping and screening of an additional 4 inches of undetermined material along with the placement of 4 inches of loam. $40,000 for loam/turf establishment on a portion of a second portion of the athletic fields to include stripping and screening of an additional 4 inches of material along with the placement of 4 inches of loam athletic turf establishment. $145,887 for the fit-out of the library to include interior partitions, doors, frames, hardware, librarians' desk, finishes, ductwork, grills, diffusers and specific lighting. $22,500 for the fit-out of the fitness room only (not including equipment). $8,716 to provide brick pavers in lieu of concrete sidewalks.In June, while agreeing to the fixed or guaranteed maximum price for the school with project managers Lee Kennedy Company, the board at that time voted nearly $100,000 for three projects not included in the proposal: $20,000 for clearing and grubbing of the site for a track, which currently is not budgeted for but could be built later; $40,000 for a water supply to irrigate athletic fields; and $42,075 for 350 parking spaces at the new school. "I hope the Design Team will make a recommendation of what to do with these items on Sept. 8 when they meet, and then I will bring their recommendation to the Conway board for it to make the final decision on Sept. 12," Superintendent Carl Nelson said.If one of the items is not approved by the board, it could come back at a different point in the schedule if the board wanted but it would most likely be at an higher adjusted price.Board member Mark Hounsell said he intends to vote in favor of adding the track project, the loam for the ball fields and the fitness room, but he will oppose the pavers and is recommending the library alternative be trimmed by two-thirds."I think with the library, there is still time to do this in phases," he said. "Doors and lighting don't necessarily need to be done right now. ... I'm not at all in favor of the pavers. It isn't going to help education one bit. I think the kids will be able to learn just the same if they're walking on sod. I'd rather have 8 inches of loam on our ball-fields than pavers on the sidewalks. ... People are going to ask how are we going to pay for this, and I think the answer is pretty simple. By trimming the cost of the library by $100,000 right now that would bring us to about $200,000 for the other items, and that's the money we received in the Banwell fee savings," referring to architectural cost reductions.In August, the Conway School District reached an agreement with Banwell Architects that will pay the district $200,000, reducing the overall cost of architectural services following the discovery of a "math error" in the original square footage design.Earlier this year the design team for the new high school established a list of priorities for finishing the school when, and if funds become available. The report, billed as a "fluid document," was in draft form, but the top priority is to finish the library at a cost of $145,887. Nelson says the library needs shelving and cabinets.The design team includes George Fredette, Hounsell and Rebecca Moore of the Conway School Board; Kennett High Principal Jack Loynd; Kennett Middle School Principal Kevin Richard; Nelson; Jim Hill, business administrator for the Conway School District; Andy Grigel of the Conway School District; David Laurin of Banwell Architects; and Blair Banker.Banker, who is the director of pre-construction for Lee Kennedy Co., said the list of priorities was derived through the philosophy of value engineering."We did a hard look at the budget and found we were about $7 per square foot over what we had budgeted," he said. "That generated a need to manage that overage, and all the while we wanted to maintain all of the core items. The approach was to take out the items that can be taken out and later put back in. ... There were about $4.9 million in ideas we wanted to give the design team an opportunity to pick and choose what they wanted in terms of priorities."The board's next round of project alternative decisions comes on Sept. 30 when there is $20,000 for loam/turf establishment for the multi-use fields area. After that, the bulk of the decisions must be made on Dec. 30.They include: $79,962 for auditorium seating material and labor for 5,000 seats each at $158.34 (final construction costs to be determined when final decision is made); $138,560 for corridor lockers labor and materials; $49,133 for classroom 36 inch high casework; $47,049 for east side bleachers featuring seating for 500 (west side bleachers were included in the guaranteed maximum price); $36,278 for tackboard material and labor; $76,027 for operable folding partitions; $26,046 for one gym curtain (one of two included in the guaranteed maximum price); $57,451 for window treatments; $180,000 for a running track asphalt base and surfacing (value may need to be adjusted to escalation in costs); $6,034 for a markerboard (including sliding) labor (markerboard material is included in the guaranteed maximum price; $62,606 for lab classroom upper wall cabinets; $22,046 to add back 50 percent of the locker room lockers; $26,772 for 4 foot teacher wardrobes (coat closets); $25,000 gym scoreboard; $33,786 to add an inch of asphalt wear course on typical drive sections; $30,000 to add tulf/seed/mulch fields; $44,600 to spread loam and seed/mulch within drives to building; $64,000 to add remaining classroom casework book cases; $15,675 to add display cases in the gym corridor; $11,000 for display cases by the art room; $5,148 to change chair rail to wood wainscot in the cafe.