Carmichaels board gives go-ahead to plans
CARMICHAELS – A design plan estimated at $25,275,000 for the renovation project in the Carmichaels Area School District was approved at a special board meeting Thursday.
District architect for the project, Kevin Hayes of Hayes Design Group, said the numbers are based upon the possibility of a rise in the market. If those numbers come in lower, that money would then go back to the district.
Tom Allen of Accelerated Construction Services, LLC, of Morgantown, told the board, “We feel very comfortable at this time presenting this to you.”
Allen said the district budget for the project is set at $25 million and his company is very close to that figure and should not have any problems meeting that budget. Allen noted there is $2.4 million in contingency amounts that have been built into his company’s figures as construction managers for the renovations. The contingency amount for inflation is $640,000, for hidden costs in design, $850,000, and for building construction, $880,000.
“You are going to have one (construction issue) on every job. You never know until you get into a job,” Allen said.
The heating and air conditioning system options were discussed at length. District maintenance manager Dave Franks told the board he feels there is a distinct possibility that he and journeyed members of his maintenance staff would be able to maintain the current system with some additions. Franks expressed concern about a chiller system that would be placed near the cafeteria, causing it to run continuously when the ovens are in use there.
“This (design budget) addresses what we feel these buildings need at this time. With that much money in contingency funds, that is money that will come off or will add to the scope of the project by a board decision,” said Superintendent Craig Baily.
A presentation will be given on the project on Oct. 17 prior to the next regular board meeting.
Prior to the special board meeting, the human resources committee of the board addressed concerns about overcrowding in the district’s kindergarten and first-grade classrooms. There are four kindergarten rooms and four first-grade rooms.
It was suggested by board members that an additional instructor be hired. This could be supported finacially, but not practically as it would only alleviate the problem for one grade and not the other. Financially, the district is not in a position to hire two teachers and the plan also would involve shuffling students to a new teacher.
A discussion of hiring an aide for each of the eight classrooms was quickly ended due to budgetary considerations.
The committee eventually agreed to bring two motions before the board at the next meeting; one to hire two aides for kindergarten and one to hire two for first grade.