School renovation projects

Posted 8/25/16

“If last year was busy, this is last year on steroids,” said Todd Wilder, coordinator of support services for the school district.

Major maintenance projects in Powell schools wrapped up before the start of the new school year. Wednesday was …

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School renovation projects

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District’s major maintenance projects completed

From Clark Elementary School to the bus barns, the Powell school district tackled numerous major maintenance projects this summer.

“If last year was busy, this is last year on steroids,” said Todd Wilder, coordinator of support services for the school district.

Major maintenance projects in Powell schools wrapped up before the start of the new school year. Wednesday was the first day of classes for students.

Projects included major renovations at Powell High School, Parkside Elementary School and the Central Administration Building as well as other work around Park County School District No. 1.

“This summer’s major maintenance work has impacted nearly every school, particularly the high school and Parkside,” Wilder told the school board earlier this month.

Projects throughout the district cost roughly $1.6 million. All of them were paid for with funding provided by the state that can be used only toward major maintenance projects, Wilder said.

“The amount of major maintenance funds received by the district is formula based,” he said.

The key component is allowable square footage, calculated using average daily membership as the primary component, he said.

“As we get more students, we get more major maintenance (funding),” Wilder said.

He said the new buildings have a phase-in formula that requires seven years to reach the maximum funding level for those buildings.

The money can be only spent on building systems and components, and cannot be used toward routine maintenance or landscaping, he said.

While state funding remains uncertain for school buildings in the future, Wilder said the Powell district is in “really good shape” with its facilities.

Major maintenance projects in the school district included:

• Powell High School Commons renovation and school-wide repainting: Nine years after its construction, the interior of the high school needed to be repainted, Wilder said. Throughout the building, new colored accent walls were added to classrooms and other areas.

As part of the $628,901 project, the PHS Commons underwent a major renovation that includes new three-dimensional design features, signage and more color. The renovation gives the Commons more of a college-type atmosphere, Wilder said.

• Parkside Elementary School’s new classroom and HVAC upgrade: Powell’s oldest school building lacked space for one-on-one and small-group work, so a storage area was renovated into a new classroom. The new learning space has all the features of a real classroom, Wilder said.

As part of the $91,859 project, the room was gutted and renovated with new flooring, paint, a drop-ceiling with new lighting, a projector, information technology connections and air conditioning.

Throughout the building, the heating and air conditioning system was upgraded to provide air conditioning for all of the classrooms. Some of the rooms previously lacked air conditioning and they “just became ovens,” Wilder said. Control systems also were updated so heating/cooling can be closely managed in each classroom.

The company LONG was in charge of the $254,200 HVAC upgrade throughout Parkside, and coordinated its work with Sletten Construction of Wyoming’s classroom work.

As part of a separate project, new exterior doors were installed around the school. Kevin Mitchell, superintendent of Park County School District No. 1, said there were issues with people breaking into the building with the old exterior doors. Jim’s Building Service completed the $48,400 project.

• The Central Administration Building remodel: The 31-year-old building underwent a major $396,454 renovation this summer, including new carpet, paint, updated lighting and a complete overhaul of the board room, which included renovating an adjacent office into a storeroom.

The renovation project also included a new storefront door system at the main entrance that will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); the old doors didn’t meet ADA guidelines.

For the PHS administration building and Parkside projects, the school district worked with Sletten Construction as the construction manager at risk. Sletten provided recommendations and also helped with the bid process. Each individual package still went out for bid.

• Clark Elementary: The project included a new bus loop with two new automated entry gates that run on electronic FOBs for bus drivers. Site work around the school included a paved parking lot and gravel. The project also included resealing the asphalt around the playground area. Jim’s Building Service was awarded the $70,450 bid for the project.

• Southside Elementary School: The parking lot underwent crack sealing (Jim’s Building Service, $4,884). Fencing improvements also were made (Griffis Fencing, $6,500).

• Westside Elementary School: A new irrigation well (Jim’s Building Service, $42,750) was installed. “In the past, irrigation was being piggybacked on the HVAC production wells, and that just didn’t work,” Wilder said. It created problems with heating/cooling inside the school, and also pressure issues with the well. The new well is dedicated only to irrigation.

• Powell Middle School: The building’s south parking lot underwent sealing and re-striping (Jim’s Building Service, $4,984). The school also will have a new area for discus and shot-put events on the east side of its field; the school will no longer use the city’s Veterans Park. Jim’s Building Service was awarded the bid for that $45,474 project.

• Powell High School Welding: The welding shop’s gas distribution system was rebuilt, with a new gas storage building on the north side of the school. The previous gas storage area was not up to code, Wilder said. The new updates will make the welding department much safer, he said. Sletten Construction was awarded the bid for the $124,303 project.

The floors in the main and auxiliary gyms were refinished at a cost of $10,725, and ACT Services did the project.

• Transportation Department: The $53,873 project fixed drainage issues at the site and also included a new gate that operates on a FOB, so bus drivers can easily open it. More concrete approaches were added around the garages that didn’t have them. Two of the parking lot lights from the middle school were re-utilized and installed at the transportation department, which didn’t have any yard lighting, Wilder said.

“This illuminates those parking areas out there,” he said.

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