ELY – With a September deadline looming and winter weather still swirling outside, the $21.5 million school facility renovation and building project is progressing indoors, according to ISD 696 Interim Superintendent John Klarich.
School board members anticipate receiving a detailed progress report from construction officials on the $21.5 million at their regular meeting on Monday.
A building that will link the Washington and Memorial structures is up and plans call for it to be open when the 2022-23 school year begins in September.
With plans calling for the students and staff to occupy the new building linking the Washington and Memorial buildings on the first day of school on Sept. 6, inflation, supply chain woes and increasing costs are keeping school officials working on several options for additional funding.
“The project is moving along internally,” Klarich told the school board last week. “The new fire hydrant (at the back of the campus), and the water main work in the front will not take place until school is out and the students are gone.”
Despite additional grant funding, the added required infrastructure work will cost the district more than $350,000 extra.
This week, interior work is continuing in the new building that houses an additional gymnasium, commons area, cafeteria and kitchen, media center, industrial and music education class areas, office spaces for the district and both schools, and a new centralized secure entrance
Klarich discussed the growing pile of construction “change orders” for the project.
“I had a long discussion with Todd Erickson (from Kraus-Anderson), the principals, and facilities committee,” he said. “Everything they send us is a change order,” as he held up a stack of documents. “They have ‘change order’ written here, but they are not change orders.”
When school officials approved the boys and girls lockers rooms and the special education area (in Bid Package Four), quotes were required for each portion of work, he said.
“These are not a negative toward the project, but are within the original scope and budget of the project. I told Todd that we should have a different name. These are not change orders. It is fulfilling a bid.”
Klarich reported that he recently approved a $3,190 change order to Red Cedar Steel Erectors to resolve an unforeseen discrepancy in anchoring the new building to the existing structure.
“We put a building in between two other buildings and it has to be anchored and secured. Well, we were seven inches off on one measurement on one of the buildings,” he said. “They had to extend two joists and they cut and welded steel plates to secure it all to keep the integrity of the building. We are trying to connect two 100-year-old buildings. Being a few inches off does happen.”
That expense will come out of the contingency fund, according to Klarich.
“It started out in the $900,000 range and is now down to about $400,000. We will have an update on the contingency fund balance at the end of the month,” he said.
Klarich said the walls in the new building are nearly up.
“The electrical work is getting ready. Things will start moving a little quicker now,” he said.
In terms of the project budget, Klarich added, “We are working diligently on that. Our lobbyists, the Costin Group, Gary Cerkvenik and Jeff Anderson, have two or three bills down in the state legislature. We are not in there by ourselves. We are with a group of schools, including Chisholm , Hibbing and Rock Ridge to get some dollars. We are looking at sales tax help and help from the supply chain increases. We are trying to make up the difference that we lost due to COVID affecting prices in the supply chain, and delivery and everything.”
The state legislature’s regular session will end on May 23.
“We are hoping all parties can get a lock and craft bills that will be acceptable to all, especially in education. In the meantime, it is tough to plan a budget. We are constantly meeting with various groups and looking at funding options and resources for use to complete the project as it was originally intended. That’s my goal,” Klarich said.