WBSD board approves remaining bids

Board also discusses trades building
By: 
Miriam Nelson
News Editor

WITTENBERG — The Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District board approved bids on Oct. 14 totaling over $1.2 million for construction at the high school and two elementary/middle schools.

These bids are part of the second bid package but were not ready for approval at the Sept. 12 meeting. According to Matt MacGregor, project manager for Hoffman Planning, Design and Construction Inc., some were projects that received no bids initially or were bids that were not time sensitive. Bids for the second phase of projects approved by voters in November as part of a $13.1 million referendum came in under budget by $90,315.41.

MacGregor also gave bids to be considered at a later date for alternative projects which were cut from the original budget when it was estimated to be over budget prior to the bid process.

Alternative projects include $82,629 for Family Consumer Science Lab, $37,585 toilet renovations, $40,582 generator replacement, $4,786 library collaboration and $18, 904 new science fume hood. According to MacGregor a decision to move forward on any of those projects can wait until January 2020.

Ground has been broken for this phase of the referendum project which includes a new 7,800-square-foot building — primarily for agriculture classrooms — next to the high school, a two-story addition to Wittenberg Elementary-Middle School and two new classrooms at Birnamwood Elementary-Middle School.

“Dirt is moving,” said board president Chuck Wendler. “Everything is heading in the right direction.”

The board also discussed going forward with a construction trades building that had been originally included in the space of the ag building, but was cut due to budget constraints.

MacGregor noted the bids came in at $180,000 which would include oversized garage doors on opposite ends to allow through traffic of vehicles and would meet all of the restrictions needed to make it comply to classroom regulations and would match the exterior of the ag building. The standalone building would be just north of the ag building.

Although the board could not agree on the bid, they made the decision to go forward with laying down the 1,200-square-foot slab foundation with a drain. MacGregor noted that because the contractors are already working on the foundation for the ag building it made sense to the board to have them do that portion now while they are on location. The board will later decide how to finish off the rest of the building.

Whatever isn’t covered by the referendum money can be covered by fund 46 which is set aside in the school budget for building improvements, according to Wittenberg-Birnamwood Superintendent Garrett Rogowski. No dollar amount was set for the slab.