Mitchell Board of Education approves final high school rebid item
Aug. 28—MITCHELL — The Mitchell Board of Education approved a rebid for the fire suppression system for the Mitchell High School construction project at its most recent meeting Monday night, Aug. 28, crossing the last piece of bidding for the new building off the list.
Now school officials are looking ahead to the ongoing construction work going on Capital Street.
"It cleans it all up so all the bids and rebids have been approved," Joe Childs, superintendent of the Mitchell School District, told the Mitchell Republic following the meeting. "This just ensures that the project is now completed in terms of what needs to happen here at the board meetings and now we're just moving forward with the actual construction."
The rebid approved at the Monday night meeting, which was submitted by Howe Plumbing, came in at $179,700, up slightly from the original bid of $165,940. Though an increase from the original bid, the increase is small enough to still allow the district to yield a net savings of just under $200,000 thanks to decreases on the rebids of items such as masonry, which came in about $620,000 lower than the original bid at the Aug. 14 meeting.
The board approved the rebid by unanimous 5-0 vote.
Childs said he and other school officials continue to meet weekly with Puetz Design and Build to discuss progress on the construction, which has gone smoothly since work began earlier this year.
"Right now what people are talking about which is fun to see is the actual walls going up. You're seeing exterior masonry going up,' Childs said. "You can see some of the burnished block, which will be a trim piece for the interior. It has a finish on it so we don't have to paint it. And you can get an idea of the windows in those in those lower-level academic wings."
Along with some of the exterior walls going up, patrons passing by may also notice a new approach and entry that is being constructed roughly across the street from the current main entrance to Mitchell High School. That entry will provide emergency crews, such as the fire department, access to the interior of the block in the event of a fire or other emergency.
Deb Olson, president of the Mitchell Board of Education, said it was good to be able to focus mainly on the construction portion of the project now that the rebid numbers for parts of the project have been finalized.
She said she was pleased with the progress workers have been able to make and noted that some factors have worked in the district's favor, such as the dirt work being completed without any problems.
"One of the things that is always a concern when doing dirt work is what are you going to find underneath? Are we going to find something underneath that could cause a problem?" Olson said. "We didn't."
Heavy precipitation can also cause construction work to become bogged down, but conditions have stayed mostly dry since work began, something she said also works out to the district's advantage.
"I'm very sad we haven't had more moisture because my water bill is pretty high, but it's really allowed construction to go more quickly than it would have otherwise if we had rain every other day," Olson said.
Childs said traffic flow and parking have not been a major issue since students and teachers returned to classes last week, but he said there will likely be some headaches when it comes to events at the Mitchell Performing Arts Center. Patrons like to park as close to the center as possible for events, and with one Mitchell Career & Technical Education Academy parking lot now inaccessible due to construction, there could be some congestion when looking for places to park.
"The difficulty would be when there are those big events at the Performing Arts Center, when everyone wants to park at the PAC, which is understandable. That's just something that we'll have to endure until the project is done and we can open up that parking again," Childs said.
Mark Puetz, with Puetz Design and Build, which is handling construction management for the project, declined to comment on work progress at the site, instead referring to questions to Mitchell School District leadership.
The construction site for the new building, which sits just across from the current high school building on Capital Street, has been a beehive of activity since construction was approved earlier this year.
The board approved five rebids at the Aug. 14 meeting. Approved rebids included a $519,068 rebid on the gypsum wall systems from Sands Drywall, a $400,500 rebid on the resilient flooring from MCI, a rebid of $1,224,409 on electrical work from Muth Electric and a $97,880 rebid on technology cabling, also from Muth Electric. The rebids approved that night were all from the same companies that had won the low bids during the original bidding process.
The board voted in June to rebid the items
after the original bidders said they could no longer honor the initial bids due to price increases that had occurred between the time the original bids were submitted and the public vote on a $17 million bond issue that allowed for the completion of the proposed athletic facilities portion of the project.
Completion for the project, including the athletic facilities, is slated for around January of 2025. While everyone is anxious to occupy the new building, Childs said the longer timeline to completion is helpful as it builds in time to make changes or to make up for unforeseen construction delays.
He also expected that the bulk of the work of moving into the building once completed will likely be closer to the fall of 2025 to avoid moving in harsh South Dakota winter weather.
In the meantime, Childs is happy to let Puetz Design and Build continue their work as he and others at Mitchell High School chart the progress from across the street.
"They've got a plan of attack for construction, and they're good at it. We'll let them do what they know how to do. They're making hay while the sun is shining," Childs said. "We've been very happy with (Puetz Design and Build). They are our neighbors so it has kept communication extremely simple. We have regularly scheduled meetings and those people who need to be there are there. And we have a good team of administration support as well. It makes everything happen so that it gets done when it needs to get done."
The board also approved the following personnel moves at the meeting:
* The new certified hire of Jenna Miller, assistant speech/debate, $2,274, effective 2023-24 school year.
* The new classified hires of Marsha Helgerson, food services manager at Mitchell High School, $19 per hour, 8 hours daily, effective Aug. 21; Alexis Scroggins, paraeducator at Longfellow Elementary, $16 per hour, 7 hours daily, effective Aug. 24 and Henry Lange, custodial at Mitchell Middle School, $17 per hour, 8 hours daily, effective Sept. 5.
* The sixth class assignment of Denise Hofman, one sixth class assignment and Mercia Schroeder, one sixth class assignment. Both assignments are effective for the 2023-24 school year.
* The resignations of Mason Kobold, food service at Mitchell Middle School, effective Aug. 14; Sherri Cochran, paraeducator at Longfellow Elementary, effective Aug. 17 and Deb Landreth, custodian at MCTEA, effective Sept. 5.
* The transfer of Lee Gair, custodial, 8 hours daily to maintenance, 8 hours daily, effective Aug. 21.
* The Mitchell Technical College resignation of Janet Greenway, career services and advising director, effective Oct. 30.
Also at the meeting, the board:
* Approved Mitchell K-12 policy series 100 to 300 on second reading.
* Approved Mitchell Technical College policy series 100 to 300 on second reading.
* Held discussion regarding a board of education work session with Associated School Boards of South Dakota Development Director Wade Pogany. The board set the meeting date and time for Sept. 27 at 5:30 p.m.
* Heard the superintendent report.
* Heard board member reports.
* Received board committee assignments from the board president.
The next meeting of the Mitchell Board of Education is scheduled for Sept. 11 at Longfellow Elementary School.
