Bids for outdoor learning areas over budget

Jul. 21—Bids for outdoor classrooms at Cumberland County High School and Stone Memorial High School came back more than estimated.

Director of Schools William Stepp asked the county finance committee to reject the bids.

"It's about double what we estimated," Stepp told the county finance committee during its July 19 meeting.

The classrooms were commercial metal buildings that provided some weather resistance.

"I would recommend we go back and re-evaluate what we're doing with that money," Stepp said.

The funds are to be spent by June 2023. Stepp believed that allows time to find another use for the funds.

"I know these outdoor classrooms — pavilions as they call them — would be great additions. But at double the bid, the money is not there," Stepp said.

The project is part of the second round of funding from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Dubbed ESSER 2.0, the school system received $5.8 million, which was earmarked for HVAC upgrades, playground equipment and the outdoor classrooms.

FTM Contracting of Cookeville submitted the low bid for two outdoor classrooms at $462,580. Adding a third outdoor classroom at The Phoenix School would be $128,580.

The budget allocation for the outdoor classrooms was $360,000.

The finance committee also approved a bid for replacement of the Hwy. 28 bridge over Daddy's Creek.

The project was first bid in April, with four companies bidding on the project.

"There were some technical issues with that bid and we decided it was best to rebid the project," Brock said.

Brock asked the committee to formally reject the April 19 bids, which they did.

The project was put out for bid again, with an opening held June 28.

This round of bidding drew six bids. The low bid came from Jave, LLC of Lexington, KY, at $1.443 million, followed by Dement Construction Company LLC of Jackson, TN, at $1.452 million.

Hazel Engineering reviewed the bids and requested references from the low bidder. Kyle E. Hazel, president of the engineering firm, wrote, "Jave LLC did not provide evidence of at least one bridge replacement project of comparable size or larger that has been completed by them as the general contractor."

This led the engineer to recommend Dement Construction, which was about $8,000 higher than the low bid, noting references were adequate and the company has worked on similar projects in size and scope.

The bridge currently has a weight limit of 5 tons. It was first brought to the county in April 2021. Funding is to come from the State Bridge Aid Program of the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Brock said, "It's the largest, most expensive bridge that's been built in Cumberland County as far as a county bridge. It is a big project."

Cumberland County Road Superintendent Scott Blaylock told the county's budget committee last year that he had concerns about the safety of the bridge.

"This one — it has just really failed in the last several years. That's one reason they kept dropping the weight limit on it. When it gets down to 5 tons, your next move is to shut it off completely," he said.

The committee also accepted a bid from American Paper and Twine to provide copy paper to the Cumberland County School System at a cost of $40.90 per case for 1,835 cases of copy paper.

That is higher than last year by about $10 per case, Brock guessed.

During its June 27 meeting, the finance committee approved the following bids for highway department supplies:

—crushed stone from Franklin Industrial Minerals (Lhoist North America) in Crab Orchard, the only bidder

—paving and paving material from Rogers Group Crab Orchard Plant, the only bidder

—culverts from The Feed Store in Crossville, the only bidder

—road oil from Hudson Materials Company in Chattanooga, the only bidder

—guardrails from Cumberland Guardrail of Pikeville, TN

—highway striping and marking from Volunteer Highway Supply Inc. of Knoxville, TN

—de-icing sale from Morton Salt of Chicago, IL

"I was disappointed in the turnout on these bids," Brock told the committee. "We typically get some competition on these, though it's dwindling."

He said bids were advertised in the Crossville Chronicle and the county reached out to potential bidders, as well.

Blaylock noted that prices were higher than last year.

"This crushed stone is the closest bid from last year as far as price per ton," he said, noting there were higher increases in other materials over last year.

The committee also accepted a request for qualifications from the Upper Cumberland Development District to assist in administration of non-competitive grants from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation from American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The state has made funds available for water and sewer projects across the state. A portion can pay for administration services. UCDD was the only respondent.

"This is such a specialty area and Upper Cumberland Development District does this on a regular basis," Brock said.

A bid of $86,500 was accepted to update intercom control systems at five schools. The bid was submitted by Roberts Electric Company of McMinnville.

Kacee Harris, former chief financial officer for the school system, explained the intercom systems were older technology.

The committee also accepted a bid of $79,044 for a new kitchen exhaust and make up air system for Pleasant Hill Elementary School from Action Heating and Cooling.

There were no bidders interested in purchasing portable classrooms the school system is taking out of service.

When such equipment fails to be sold at bid, Brock explained the county and schools will sometimes work with nonprofit organizations who are willing to remove the portable buildings at no cost to the school system. Otherwise, the school system will have to pay the cost of demolition and removal.

Heather Mullinix is editor of the Crossville Chronicle. She covers schools and education in Cumberland County. She may be reached at hmullinix@crossville-chronicle.com.