School renovations expected for Carmichaels this May
The Carmichaels Area School District recently voted to approve a contract for a construction manager who will oversee renovations on their elementary school beginning in May. Switching from the construction manager that oversaw the middle-senior high school project, the district decided upon Eckles Construction Services.
At a recent meeting, the board approved a contract with Eckles Construction Services and is now seeking bids for actual construction services until the end of March. The plan is for contracts to be officially signed by early April so that actual construction work can begin in May.
According to reporting from Bob Niedbala from the Observer-Reporter, the original construction manager for Carmichael’s other school projects, Accelerated Construction Services, did not have an interest in managing the elementary school and the high school projects at the same time.
Eckles was one of the initial companies who expressed interest in managing both the elementary and high school projects, but the school board decided instead to choose Accelerated Construction Services to complete the high school renovations. When Accelerated declined to be in consideration for the elementary school work, Eckles had the best proposal.
“We gave [Accelerated] the option to stay,” said Carmichaels Area School District Superintendent John Menhart. “However, they chose not to, but we ended on good terms as they did a great job with the work on the high school.”
Menhart said that work on the high school is “99 percent complete,” and the project has moved along “pretty much as we expected.”
Menhart said that the school community was instrumental to the efficiency of the project.
“Strategically we had to work it out,” said Menhart. “But students were cooperative, and parents were very understanding throughout the entire process.”
Menhart was quite proud of the work that was done on the high school, and he said that the new library is “outstanding,” the cafeteria is brand new, a direct, indoor connection now exists between the middle and high schools, a new art center was put in and the old cafeteria is now back to being an auxiliary gymnasium, as it was decades ago.
“I’ve been here 38 years as an employee,” said Menhart. “And this is the first big project we’ve had done in a while. I remember when the old cafeteria used to be a gymnasium before they changed it.”
However as one project ends, the other will soon begin.
According to Menhart, Eckles was the most logical choice not just because they had a good quote but also because they would be ready and willing to come on board immediately.
“We have a tight window,” said Menhart, noting that work will be done almost entirely over the summer months. “We needed not only a smooth transition from construction project to construction project but also work to be done when no students would be inhabiting the school building.”
Menhart said that similar to when work was done on the middle/high school building, the construction will be completed in phases. The only inconvenience for students will be to fourth and fifth graders this May, as they will spend the last part of their academic year in “learning cottages” outside the school. This is so that their usual classrooms can be used as a staging area for construction crews to prepare for the work to be done as soon as school is out of session.
“We’ve done a lot of work in this project to identify possible problems before they arrive,” said Menhart.
He noted at the same time that both the administration and those doing the work will need to take it one day at a time to see how the project will go.
At the elementary school, renovation work will include bringing everything up to current code, reconfiguring the foyer area to create a secure zone where visitors will ‘buzz in’ to gain school access, installing new lighting and adding new heating and plumbing to the facility.
Menhart noted that besides things looking new, most students will not notice anything substantial that has changed, as many renovations are building infrastructure related.
“We had lots of teacher and community input,” said Menhart.
He added that he hopes the changes made will be beneficial to students, faculty and the community alike for years to come.
The school district is planning an open house for parents of the elementary school students in regards to the work plans, but the date is still to be determined.