Construction costs increase for county school upgrades
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on December 31, 2014 1:46 PM
Rising costs for construction projects at Charles B. Aycock High School, including a nearly $30,000 price tag on asbestos abatement, have forced the Wayne County school board to scrap some of the bids it has already received while it trims costs.
At a recent board meeting, Rick Pridgen, chairman of the facilities committee, said the overages for the Aycock project "came in right at $1 million over budget."
The district is in the middle of a $6.6 million project to add 20 classrooms and to expand the cafeteria at the school.
It is not uncommon for unexpected expenses to arise during construction and renovations, school officials said. The issue of the asbestos abatement surfaced last month, with the facilities committee assured at the time that contingency funds could be used to handle it.
However, that proved not to be the only glitch.
"Over the years prices had increased somewhat. We had to do some redesign on the cafeteria to meet specifications, that type of thing," Pridgen said. "The timeline had a little bit to do with it. We had to make some shifts in the administration area."
And then the board ran into problems with the cafeteria -- some commercial kitchen equipment needed to be changed out and asbestos removed.
"That wasn't in the original plan," Pridgen said of the latter, which carries a $28,900 price tag. "That's over and above what the original bid was."
"Was that an unforeseen project?" board member Eddie Radford asked.
"They knew there would be some. It's included in that price breakdown of the Aycock renovation," Finance Officer Beverly Boltinhouse replied.
"This is an add-on?" Radford asked.
"It's an add-on, but it's in that total price," Mrs. Boltinhouse explained.
There were other areas that also merited a second look, Pridgen said, including soil testing, the parking lot and some of the wiring, to name a few.
"We had to go through item by item, what could be cut or changed to try to come up with a lesser amount," he said. "We ended up right around $387,000. And then we have gotten another $200,000 we have been able to knock off on the kitchen equipment, that type of stuff."
In the midst of trimming costs, another action was required by the board.
"We did reject all the bids that had come in from several construction companies," Pridgen said.
The timeline also proved problematic, he added, with at least one contractor being unable to complete the work within the proposed time frame.
Pridgen said the problems could delay the project by up to four months, something the committee hopes to minimize. At the same time, he said that the extension might prove helpful.
"We didn't want (anyone) to be in a position of not having enough time to come to the table," he said. "We had to give in a little bit."
Decisions had be made about the type of sod to plant, copper versus aluminum, and where cuts could be made, particularly in areas that might not be as critical.
Some of the contracts will now have to be re-bid, something Pridgen said could actually benefit companies interested in bidding, as they will have a better idea of what the projects entail.
"We're back on the table again with that," he said. "Hopefully we'll have that in process again by Jan. 8."
He said he feels confident that the committee looked at every place where cuts could be comfortably made and to get items within the proposed budget.
"We have made every change we possibly could without changing the integrity of the project," Pridgen said.