The Lakeland Union High School District will foot the bill for an additional quarter million dollars needed to renovate the outside athletic locker rooms.
The estimated cost is now $916,000. But an apple-to-apple comparison to original estimates can’t be made as the project has grown in scope. Meeting in special session Friday morning, the school board authorized the expenditure, but balked at replacing the stadium lighting, another recommended project from administration.
Director of Business Services Greg Kopp outlined options to handle the unexpected “overage” of locker room costs. Those options were to increase the tax levy by $127,000 (offset by a like amount from debt service reserve fund) for the locker room renovation, paying for the locker room renovation totally from fund balance, folding the locker room and stadium lighting projects together with a $412,000 tax levy increase (offset by $200,000 in debt service reserve funds), or tap the fund balance $412,000 for both projects. Two years ago the plan was to update the locker room building as a bathroom/concession/storage structure at a cost of about $692,000.
The project was then reconfigured to renovate the locker rooms with two bathrooms and showers. Schneider Electric, the company hired to do millions of dollars of energy savings projects at the school, was authorized to seek bids for the locker rooms project. The only bidder, Nasi Construction recently submitted a bid of $847,000. Another company later offered to do the work at more than $950,000, Kopp said. Working with administration, Schneider Electric and Nasi Construction removed $100,000 of work to bring the project cost down to $747,000.
As of Friday, June 23rd, the cost overrun was thought to be in the neighborhood of $45,000, according to a verbal message from an Schneider Electric representative to Kopp. But the Schneider architect said the removed items were required by building codes so that cost came back in. In addition to those costs, architectural and management fees not contained in the verbal estimate means it will cost the district an additional $224,510 to do the project. Of that increase, $32,500 is for the architect to redraw the plans, $171,600 is for Nasi Construction and $20,410 is for Schneider Electric to manage the project. Kopp recommended to the board that it act on the locker room and stadium lights in order for them to fall under the Wisconsin Act 32 enabling legislation that allows school districts to finance energy savings projects as long-term debt without having to go to referendum.
It’s unclear what the future holds for Act 32 projects as it depends on the outcome of Governor Scott’s Walker’s budget, Kopp said in urging quick action on the projects. The vote to authorize the locker room change order was unanimous. A companion motion to exceed revenue limits by $127,000 for one year for that project also passed. The board will use $127,000 of debt service reserve fund to offset that cost, resulting in no increase in the tax levy. It’s also possible that the district could see reductions of up to $50,000 in the Nasi contract, depending on the work completed. The recommendation to replace the stadium lights at a cost of $285,000 and finance it as Act 32 debt failed with only Jon Berg in favor. Berg noted that lighting upgrades were essential when the district renovated the auditorium. “Let’s move the project forward to completion,” he said of the athletic field.
But board member Shari Nimsgern questioned why the district would have Schneider oversee the stadium lighting project at a cost of nearly $26,000.
