Northside library project moving forward
School board members approved a guaranteed maximum price of $898,876 for the Northside Elementary School library project during Tuesday’s meeting.
Subcontractor bids on the project were submitted on Feb. 6 and came in higher than anticipated at $935,735, according to Jody Wiggins, assistant superintendent. The school worked with Crossland Construction, BiLd Architects and subcontractors to bring the price down by $26,859, he said.” Originally we were hoping to be in the low 800s ($800,000) and we’re in the upper 800s,” Wiggins said. “The parking lot was an addition from our end that ended up probably being around $35,000. I don’t know that we’re too far off on the back end.” The addition is on track to be completed in July, according to architect Michael Spaeth.
Rebecca Walker, estimator for Crossland Construction, said the company received multiple bids for each of the construction packages it put together for the project.
“In each division we got threeplus bids. I think in the electrical division we had at least five, and the majority of the bids in each division were fairly close to each other so the subs were looking at the information the same. … I think overall we had a great turnout,” Walker said.
After the bids were opened, Walker worked for several days to vet the low bidders, Wiggins said. The low bids came in higher than anticipated, so subcontractors were asked about ways the cost could be reduced, he said.
The school, Crossland Construction and BiLd Architects reviewed 16 cost saving ideas.
“Several got moved over to the rejected column very quickly, either because it was something that we need or because our engineers or architect did not recommend we do based on their experience,” Wiggins said.
Three ideas were ultimately chosen to reduce costs. The school will save $22,935 by using
purchased furniture instead of custom mill work for the shelving along the walls of the library. Additionally, flexible electrical pipes will be used in certain locations inside the walls for a savings of $1,613 and a different type of ceiling panel will be used for a savings of $2,311.
Walker said there were several reasons that costs have gone up since October. The school requested several design changes from the original plan, such as adding a high ceiling with hanging light fixtures inside the library and a parking lot outside. The cost of labor and materials has also gone up, she said.
Wiggins said the new library will be a showcase of the Northside Elementary School campus.
“A new library over there is going to be a big deal and we want it on a campus that’s pretty old,” he said. “The goal for the library is kinda for it to be the showcase of that campus and to be something that all of them could be proud of and be excited to go to.”