The latest School District 166 school board meeting included a tour of the demolition and construction under way for the new Cook County Family YMCA, attached to the Cook County Schools building. Superintendent Beth Schwarz explains the plans for locker rooms to the school board.
As the Cook County Family YMCA facility moves through the construction process, those involved in making it happen are trying to save money wherever possible and make good use of space. Recent decisions regarding locker rooms are going to affect programming at Cook County Schools and the county’s building fund.
On March 11, Project Manager Mark Kragenbring of ORB Management brought the ISD 166 school board up to speed on the latest developments. Budget limitations led to a plan to keep the old gym the same length when it is rehabbed, leaving the old stage, boys’ locker room, and band room available for YMCA programming. A decision was made to empty out the boys’ locker room and turn it into a weight room.
Originally, project planners had recommended dividing the old girls’ locker room into two, but that would have cost over $90,000 because plumbing underneath the floor would need to be reconfigured. The latest suggestion was to refurbish the girls’ locker room with new paint and new plumbing fixtures, leaving the school short a boys’ locker room that used to be used for visiting teams. To remedy that, one of the two partly finished locker rooms immediately off the Sawtooth Elementary gym could be finished and used for visiting teams at a cost of about $10,000.
School Superintendent Beth Schwarz said, “The district is not responsible for the financial end of this project.” County Commissioner Sue Hakes said she thought the 1 percent sales tax funding the project could be used to pay for the necessary work in the elementary gym locker room.
Schwarz expressed concern over the proposed locker room situation, which would mean that visiting teams playing in the high school gym or the YMCA gym would have to traverse the entire building to reach their locker room.
Coach Mitch Dorr said, “I definitely don’t think it’s the ideal configuration.”
School board member Deb White asked why the project had gone over budget so early in the construction process. Commissioner Hakes said the reasons were the architect “overdesigning” the project, “scope creep” (additions being made after the initial designing and budgeting), and cost underestimates by contractors.
Whose responsibility is that? White asked.
“ORB’s,” said Hakes.
White lamented higher than-expected costs, saying that poor planning resulting in things such as pouring concrete in the winter would mean giving up amenities that would otherwise have been available to the students. “Architects get paid on a percentage,” she said.
“That’s why we’re holding it to 9½ [million dollars],” said Hakes.
“What about change orders?” asked White.
“We’re holding it to 9½,” said Hakes. She took issue with claims that students would not be getting something good, saying they were going to get something great. “Nobody wants to spend more money, so everybody has to take a little of the pain,” she said of staying within the budget. “It’s going to be a lot better than what we have now.”
The board voted to approve the proposal to refurbish the old girls’ locker room with 1 percent funds and finish off one of the elementary gym locker rooms, contingent on the county funding the cost of security doors to separate the gym from the rest of the elementary school. The motion passed 4 to 1, with Deb White casting the nay vote.
County keeps promise
In an effort to stay within the budget it established for the Cook County Family YMCA facility, the county board voted on March 19, 2013 to spend up to $16,000 from the county’s building fund on the improvements to Sawtooth Elementary School that were discussed at the school board meeting the week before.
Commissioner Hakes, on the Community Center Steering Committee, said that the county promised the ISD 166 school district that both a boys’ and a girls’ locker room would still be available for school use when the YMCA project was complete.
County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers will consult with the county’s bond attorney to determine if the bond proceeds paying for the new facility (and the 1 percent sales tax revenue that will pay off the bonds) can be used to finish the locker room in the elementary school.
By a vote of 3-2, the board passed a motion to finish off the elementary locker room at a cost of up to $10,000 with either 1 percent funds or, if that is not possible, with money from the county’s building fund. Voting aye were Sue Hakes, Jan Hall, and Bruce Martinson, and voting nay were Heidi Doo-Kirk and Garry Gamble.
By a vote of 4-1, the board passed a motion to pay for security doors in the elementary school with money from the county’s building fund. The cost is expected to be up to $6,000. Voting nay was Garry Gamble.
Rebidding for YMCA project
Re-bidding for the pre-cast concrete panels on the outside of the new facility came in with a low bid of $350,000 from Fabcon Precast, LLC. Commissioner Sue Hakes indicated at the 3-12-13 county board meeting that they had hoped to save $100,000 to $125,000 by re-bidding. By a vote of 3-1, the board accepted the bid, with Garry Gamble voting nay and Jan Hall absent.
The low bid the first time around was $418,000 from Wells Concrete, which did not submit a bid the second time because their schedule got filled up until July, which would have been too late for this project.
ORB Management Director of Management Services Wade Cole told the News-Herald, “Remember that timing and schedule has an impact on bid numbers.”
Cook County YMCA director
Duluth Area YMCA Executive Director Chris Francis told the school board on March 11 that final interviews for the Cook County Family YMCA director position would be held in Cook County by a panel that would include ISD 166 school board members.
Leave a Reply