Uniontown school projects ‘on schedule’
Contracts for the Ben Franklin, Lafayette and high school projects could be executed by Feb. 1, according to the architect for the Uniontown Area School District projects. “We’re on schedule,” said John Beddia, senior project manager with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associations Architects of Mechanicsburg, at the board meeting Monday night.
December marks the month when contracts for the Ben Franklin School renovation/construction project are to be awarded. The Lafayette School project contracts are to be awarded in January and the high school project contracts are to be awarded in February, he said.
Beddia believes the district will receive more competitive bidding by sending the projects out to bid separately rather than bidding out all three simultaneously, which he said could provide an opportunity for only a small number of companies to bid on the projects.
Beddia said he is hoping the district is able to get good pricing into the winter months, noting that his firm is receiving “pretty successful” bids.
In other project news, residents will be able to voice their opinions on the new construction slated for Lafayette School, as the board will, as required by law, hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 24 in the high school.
The maximum cost of Lafayette’s new construction is expected to be $9.8 million. That excludes renovation costs, site work and some other fees. The total price of the project is expected to be $12.2 million.
The hearing is required only for Lafayette School since its new construction will exceed 20 percent of the building’s existing square footage, Beddia said. New construction also is planned for the high school and Ben Franklin, but no Act 34 hearing is required.
Related to the projects, the board approved submitting PlanCon D and E to the Department Monday night at the regular board meeting.
PlanCon, an acronym for Planning and Construction Workbook, is the state Department of Education’s application process for school districts to receive monetary reimbursement on school building projects.
Beddia said he spoke to state officials and state approval for PlanCon A and B is expected to arrive soon. In the meantime, state officials encouraged the district to proceed with the next two steps of the PlanCon process, he said.
In other business, the board named Rob Smalley, district director of buildings and grounds, as project manager to oversee the renovation/new construction projects.
Carlus Collier, district head of maintenance, was hired as assistant director for buildings and grounds at a salary of $49,713. He will fill duties previously assigned to Smalley.
The appointment was effective Tuesday.
Also, under buildings and grounds, the board voted to advertise for a maintenance employee with master-level experience in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) if, after posting, a qualified, internal candidate is not available.
Philip Holt, co-chairman of the board’s buildings and grounds committee, said the position could save the district money since it usually hires outside contractors to repair HVAC problems. The person also will work on the new system to be installed at the high school with the renovation/new construction project, he said.