Felicia Frazar | Posted: Friday, October 11, 2013 12:00 am
http://seguingazette.com/news/article_80653748-3201-11e3-b7da-001a4bcf887a.htm
Voters approved the bond in November of 2011 with a pricetag of nearly $10.4 million, and the board began working with architect Randy Fromberg of Fromberg and Associates to lay out official plans.
Part of that work was hiring a construction manager-at-risk, and the board went with Joeris General Contractors, which paid off for the district, said Joeris project manager Byron Grimm.
“One of the early decisions that the school board made was to go with a construction manager-at-risk,” he said. “One of the advantages to the school district is that even though an initial construction cost was given, any savings that were realized throughout the project we were able to return to the district. That could happen a number of ways, so we had a lot of people looking out for that. I am happy to say today, that we have come in right at $500,000 under the budget of the original project scope.”
The half a million dollars was placed in a contingency fund, some of which has already been used; the rest has already been allocated to fund smaller projects for the district, Kennedy said.
“We are still looking at some of those contingency items,” she said. “Our parking is not very adequate, so we are working on a parking lot that has got to be restructured. There are some upgrades of things that need to be done to the other facilities. Everything is still within the scope of facilities because that is where our focus is.”
While the process of getting the new building and renovations going was long, Kennedy said it was teamwork that made everything run smoothly.
“Without the board coordinating with the community, this project would not have been possible,” she said. “I was not here for those times and everything that was going on, but I understand it was a lengthy process but a very positive process and look what we got out of it. We are all pulling together as a team to accomplish the things that you see in Marion ISD.”
Former bond committee member and current trustee Shane Osborne said it was the community who helped make the science and technology center a reality.
“I’d love to thank the community. Because none of this is possible without them and their involvement and their willingness to come out and support the bond,” he said. “We couldn’t have done this without our taxpayers supporting this and without the bond committee and, of course, the staff out here at the school.”
Voters approved the bond in November of 2011 with a pricetag of nearly $10.4 million, and the board began working with architect Randy Fromberg of Fromberg and Associates to lay out official plans.
Part of that work was hiring a construction manager-at-risk, and the board went with Joeris General Contractors, which paid off for the district, said Joeris project manager Byron Grimm.
“One of the early decisions that the school board made was to go with a construction manager-at-risk,” he said. “One of the advantages to the school district is that even though an initial construction cost was given, any savings that were realized throughout the project we were able to return to the district. That could happen a number of ways, so we had a lot of people looking out for that. I am happy to say today, that we have come in right at $500,000 under the budget of the original project scope.”
The half a million dollars was placed in a contingency fund, some of which has already been used; the rest has already been allocated to fund smaller projects for the district, Kennedy said.
“We are still looking at some of those contingency items,” she said. “Our parking is not very adequate, so we are working on a parking lot that has got to be restructured. There are some upgrades of things that need to be done to the other facilities. Everything is still within the scope of facilities because that is where our focus is.”
While the process of getting the new building and renovations going was long, Kennedy said it was teamwork that made everything run smoothly.
“Without the board coordinating with the community, this project would not have been possible,” she said. “I was not here for those times and everything that was going on, but I understand it was a lengthy process but a very positive process and look what we got out of it. We are all pulling together as a team to accomplish the things that you see in Marion ISD.”
Former bond committee member and current trustee Shane Osborne said it was the community who helped make the science and technology center a reality.
“I’d love to thank the community. Because none of this is possible without them and their involvement and their willingness to come out and support the bond,” he said. “We couldn’t have done this without our taxpayers supporting this and without the bond committee and, of course, the staff out here at the school.”
Rick Gonzales
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