Bids ready for early C’ville High School work

School board to review price tags

Construction of the massive new Collierville High School is expected to take a step forward this week when the town’s school board reviews costs for the early stages of the project.

At its meeting tonight, the board is scheduled to consider a proposed $8.1 million guaranteed maximum price for two jobs: clearing and preparing the site as well as building driveways and parking areas.

The proposed price comes from Flintco and Linkous Construction, two companies to which the school board has delegated the complex task of overseeing the project. “Guaranteed maximum price” means the construction management companies have proposed a price tag for the work and promised the cost won’t exceed that amount, said school board Chairman Mark Hansen.

If the cost exceeds the maximum price, the construction management companies “would eat that difference,” Hansen said.

The $8.1 million work is just one part of the estimated $75 million cost of building the school near the intersection of Shelby Drive and Sycamore Road in southeast Collierville.

The town’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted last year to borrow $95 million in bonds to build the school and cover additional costs such as landscaping and infrastructure. The city expects a 25-cent property tax increase and sales tax revenue to cover the bonds.

The new high school will accommodate 3,000 students and more if necessary, architect Scott Fleming has said. It will replace an existing high school that leaders in the fast-growing and prosperous suburb describe as overcrowded. The existing high school would become the system’s third middle school.

The big high school project serves as a symbol of the town’s ambition to continue as a destination for people who want a high-quality education for their children. Groundbreaking for the project might take place in mid-May, though no date is final, Hansen said.

Planners have said they want the school ready to open by August 2018.

For the first construction contract, clearing and preparing the site, Collierville-based Browning Construction put in the lowest of six bids, $4.6 million, according to school board documents and Mike Simpson, chief of operations for Collierville Schools.

For the second contract, building driveways and parking areas, Collierville-based Fossett Paving submitted the lowest bid of $1.9 million. The board won’t actually vote on those contracts, said Simpson. “It’s my understanding that that award is made by Flintco/Linkous and our architects after they select the best and lowest bid,” he said.