Changes considered, nothing decided for school project
A schedule of responsibilities, time lines, and a list of possible reductions were reviewed Monday evening by Marion-Florence USD 408 board of education members but no decisions were made.
Architect Greg Tice and contractor Jim Costello of Hutton Construction presented the information. Another special meeting at 6 p.m. Aug 30 will include budget line items to assist the board in determining cost cuts.
At the Aug. 30 meeting, the board is to approve the final footprint and control budget of the buildings which means decisions will be made about the size of the pool, whether or not there will be a slide in the pool, and whether the gymnasium will be a top-loading gym or grade level.
Cost-saving suggestions made by Tice for the gym and pool were:
— Reduce pool from eight lanes to six.
— Omit tile from pool and deck areas.
— Omit extra bathrooms, leaving a minimum of five toilets on the main level.
— Move stairs to the interior of building.
— Omit slide in pool area.
— Omit concrete block wall behind bleachers.
— Reduce basketball goals from 10 to six.
— Change roof to pre-engineered system.
— Omit wall and ceiling paint from interior of pool area.
— Omit center divider curtain.
— Install steel rail instead of glass rail at track.
— Revise entry to omit limestone.
— Change from top-loaded gym to grade-level gym.
Tice said if a slide would be added at a later date, the building size would not be reduced. Superintendent Lee Leiker said the City of Marion would like to have the square footage retained for a slide.
When asked the cost of limestone in the entry, Tice did not know.
Auditorium options included changing from a masonry structure to steel, reduce building size by 1,000 square feet, and reduce budget for theater equipment.
In the information provided by Tice, a clarification was made that bleachers on the home side would have continuous wood backs. Individual seating would not have backs. Also a parquet floor option would not be considerably more expensive than a typical wood floor option.
A contract for Phase I also will be presented for approval at the Aug. 30 meeting.
By the end of October, the contractor plans to bid the project with cost estimates being determined.
To meet the available funds, a reduction of 9,000-10,000 square feet and the other suggestions made by Tice would need to be made.
Board chairman Rex Savage said the footprint is still more than what was presented to the voters.
Tice said it would be easier to make changes now than a month from now.
In other business:
— A budget hearing was held regarding the proposed budget for 2007.
Leiker reported the district was able to maintain the same mill rate.
Hearing no public comment or opposition, the board approved the budget as proposed.
The next meeting will be a special meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 30 at the central office.
