By MIKE McCOY
Statesman Staff Writer
BLOOMFIELD, Mo. - The Bloomfield School tabled action on awarding a contract for construction of a safe room after all the bids received on the project were above the amount budgeted. The board instructed Dr. Nicholas Theile, superintendent of the district, to work with Bates and Associates of Springfield, the architects, and Toth and Associates, project managers, to eliminate some of the additional features that were put in the specifications to attempt to get the project within the $1.6 million projection. The district received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency which requires a local match. The district approved the sale of $815,000 in Lease Refunding and Improvement Certificates to provide local funds to construct the safe room and to pay off an existing lease certificate. The total amount would provide $566,950 for Safe Room construction.
The district received six bids on the project. They were:
* Penzel Construction with a base bid of $2,672,000 plus $128,700 for alternates;
* Zoeliner Construction with a base bid of $2,599,000 plus $171,360 for alternates;
* Brown Construction of Dexter with a base bid of $2,810,000 plus $125,100 for alternates;
* Sides Construction with a base bid of $2,500,00 plus $114,500 for alternates;
* R. L. Persons Construction, Inc. of Poplar Bluff with a base bid of $2,499,513 plus $100,000 for alternates;
* Sargent with a base bid of $2,980,000 plus $109,000 for alternates.
The Board approved the final specifications for the 14,312 square foot safe room/multi-purpose building at their January meeting. The Safe Room was to include three classrooms, a gym, locker rooms, a concession area and several storage areas while meeting standards set by FEMA for an emergency shelter for students and the public during disasters.
The board discussed some of the added features that were put into the project such as the dressing rooms, upper level classrooms, bleachers, a concession area and an enclosed glass foyer. Thiele was to work with the architects to see which of these could be eliminated to get the project within the amount budgeted. Other ideas discussed were simplifying the ramp and entrance or cutting back on unnecessary architectural features.
A special meeting is to be held within two weeks to further discuss the issue and see what can be done with the bids that were submitted. Thiele said it was possible that the project may have to rebid with new specifications.
The board accepted a bid of $3,875 from Ronald Kucera of Jackson for the demolition of a house at 506 Center Street owned by the district. Kucera was the lowest of five bidders.
Other bidders and the amounts were Schaefer Construction of Bloomfield, $4,001.33; Gary Dornin Demolition of Fairdealing, $4,400; E and E Contracting of Bloomfield, $5,000; and JDK Excavating of Bloomfield, $6,000.
The board also unanimously approved a donation of $100 to Project Prom. The board has made this contribution annually for several years, and there was little discussion.
The board approved an audit for the 2010-11 fiscal year. Jeff Stroder and Sarah Miget, CPAs from Buessink, Hey, Roe and Stroder, LLC in Cape Girardeau, were present to answer any questions. The audit found no major problems, but did outline some areas where accountability could be improved, particularly in regards to federal money received by the distict.
The board approved a policy governing communications between staff and students. The new policy had to be implemented by March this year after the issue was addressed by the legislature. The original legislation was broad in scope and would have prevented electronic communications between staff and students. The new policy was suggested by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The board softened some of the language to allow staff to talk to family members. Thiele said the changes would still meet the new law.
Thiele shared some information about state funding projections for the 2013 fiscal year. Those projections range from $16,962 less than in 2012 to $66,872 more than in 2012. Under the current senate plan the district would be up $19,633 in 2013.
In executive session the board approved hiring William Boone, Darrell Kyle and Mendy Bell as substitute teachers. They also reviewed the annual evaluations of the building administrators.
The next board meeting will be held March 19 because the regular date, March 12, will be during the spring break.