Minutes

Construction Advisory Committee Meeting

April 10, 2006

Committee Members met in the Fayette County Board of Education Central Office #2 Conference Room. The Committee Members reintroduced themselves. Dr. John DeCotis, Superintendent, and Mr. Fred Phillips, Purchasing Agent, thanked everyone for coming to the meeting.

Mr. Klaus Darnall, Construction Manager, and Mr. Phillips reported on most recent FY2001 Bond updates at McIntosh High School. The old automotive program space is being reconfigured to house the construction class, and the old construction classroom will house the new health occupations program. The work on this project has begun, and will finish around June 1, 2006. The acoustical panels for the band room will be installed during spring break or the summer.

Mr. Darnall and Mr. Phillips reported on the FY2005 bond construction projects. Construction of the new middle school, Bennett’s Mill Middle School, has begun. The concrete slabs have been poured for the gymnasium, kitchen and cafeteria. Steel for the structures of the kitchen and mechanical room is on site and awaiting installment. The asphalt track around the football field has been placed. Sewer lines and electrical conduit is being installed for the classroom areas, and the concrete slab will be poured for the media center in the near future. Weather permitting, the school is scheduled to be opened on August 1, 2007.

On the Rising Starr Middle School addition, the concrete walls are 99% complete in the three wings, and the brick work is being installed. The window framing process has begun on the 800 wing. More bricks were ordered in September to complete the building and match with the brick originally placed on the school, and small shipments of these bricks are coming in. The color of the new bricks is not an exact match to the old bricks, and hopefully the brick work will be completed in the next few weeks. The estimated completion date for this project is August 1, 2006.

The Peeples Elementary School and Spring Hill Elementary additions are progressing. For Peeples Elementary School, the contractor has poured the concrete building slab, and the hollow metal doorframes are being set in the corridor. The project is behind schedule due to a contractor mistake, and the contractor assures Mr. Darnall that the lost time will be made up in order to complete the addition by the scheduled August 1, 2006 date. The Spring Hill addition has made good progress. The steel structures for the addition have begun; the mezzanine slab is ready to be poured, and exterior block wall is 52% complete. For this project, the brick was ordered to match the existing brick, and the shipments are coming in small amounts. The estimated completion date for the project’s completion is August 1, 2006.

For Flat Rock Middle and Whitewater Middle Schools, the bid documents have been prepared, and work has begun for the gymnasium air conditioning projects. Work is scheduled to be completed by July 31, 2006.

J. C. Booth Middle School documents prepared for the renovations of the kitchen updates, as well as air conditioning units in the gymnasium, have been approved by the Department of Education. The modifications for the renovation work (replacements of lockers, ceiling tiles, floor finishes, as well as installation of the energy management system, interior painting and installation of the marker boards) have also been approved the by the Department of Education. The bid date for these renovations is April 11, 2006, with the exception of the painting and replacement of the floor finishes.

East Fayette Elementary School’s documentation for the installation of an energy management system, replacement of the roof HVAC units, and air conditioning of the gymnasium have been approved by the Department of Education. The bid date for this project is April 20, 2006.

For McIntosh High School, the energy management system, replacement of roof-top HVAC units, and the replacement of ceiling tile and grid, installation of marker boards, modification to construct a Health Occupations lab were submitted and approved by the Department of Education. These items will be paid by state money and FY 2001 Bond Funds, and will be bid out on April 25, 2006.

Brooks Elementary School has begun with the topographic and boundary survey for the eight classroom additions. The architects and engineers are in process of drawing up the paperwork necessary for the addition, air conditioning of the kitchen, renovation of the media/auxiliary spaces, and the replacement of the gymnasium roof and roof top HVAC units. This project is expected to be completed in 2007.

The Fayette Middle School’s projects are progressing, as well. The architects and engineers are also in the process of drawing up the paperwork necessary for adding air conditioning to the gymnasium, renovating the kitchen and the replacement of the roof top HVAC units. The project is expected to begin in August, 2006, and should be completed in June, 2007.

Update on Inman Elementary School: The school will be on a state-approved septic system. Engineers and architects will be drawing up the necessary paperwork for State approval, and the expected construction begin date on the school will be in March, 2007. The excess 100 acres of the property have been put up for sale, with a potential contract on the purchase, pending zoning and Board approval, after an attempt to auction the property yielded no bidders.

Mr. Lee Davis, Comptroller, informed the committee that the second part of our bond issue would be floated at approximately July, 2007.

Dr. DeCotis informed the committee of the recently passed new laws that will affect our school system. For the class sizes law, he thinks we will not be affected, since we already have smaller class sizes. We are still plagued with austerity cuts, and the state will require us to hire additional counselors in an attempt to prevent dropouts, and in addition, we will need to hire additional teachers to keep up with the growth that Fayette County is experiencing. Another new law will require us to inform parents about clubs that are offered for the children to participate in, and give parents the option to “opt out” of clubs, if they wish. Dr. DeCotis also mentioned about the law allowing schools to teach the Bible as a class or elective. The state sales tax proposal this year did not pass, however we might see it again next year. In addition, the mandated PE law did not pass, because the citizens put out a “grass-roots” effort in notifying the legislators that they did not want the law to impede students from having art, music or other fine arts classes offered. Dr. DeCotis thanks the legislators for being very supportive this year.

The meeting was adjourned. Dr. DeCotis thanked everyone for coming and stated that he hoped they enjoyed the meeting.