Inman Elementary Renovation: Bids Awarded, Work to Start in March

Inman Elementary Renovation: Bids Awarded, Work to Start in March

One of the largest items on the agenda was the approval of bids for the Inman Elementary renovation, which includes a new cafeteria, secure vestibule, and related improvements.

Highlights include:

The district received a solid number of bids across multiple packages, ranging from site demolition and concrete to steel erection and other trades.
The board approved the lowest responsive bid in each package, keeping the project within the preliminary budget range of $3.2 to $3.7 million.
The base project cost came in at approximately $3,273,000.

Lorenz noted that many of the successful bidders are local or regional firms, including Building Crafts, Camblin Mechanical, and Red Oak Glass, keeping much of the project investment close to home.

Two bid packages will be rebid:

Metal wall panels – original bid exceeded budget; a placeholder of just over $115,000 was added for planning purposes.
Drywall and metal stud framing – original bid was incomplete; a placeholder of roughly $165,000–$166,000 was inserted.

In addition, the board approved a significant alternate:

A new primary air handler for Inman Elementary.
Alternate cost is $566,000 to be completed by Camblin, with final design details still to be worked out.

Construction is expected to begin in March and be completed before the start of the next school year. Lorenz said families should expect some disruption this spring, including:

Temporary relocation of lunch service to classrooms and the media center.
Adjustments to traffic flow and building access.

Even with those inconveniences, he emphasized that the impact should amount to roughly two months of the school year—relatively minor for a project of this size.

No New Taxes for the Project

Lorenz reiterated one message he wants to keep front and center:

The project will be funded with existing PPEL and SAVE dollars that the district has been setting aside over the past four to five years.
No additional tax increase or new levy is being requested from local taxpayers.

“We don’t want to put any additional burden on taxpayers,” he said, noting that questions occasionally arise about whether projects like this raise taxes. In this case, the answer is no.