Project Update — September 12, 2019

Referendum project work continues safely as students arrive for new year

Only nine days after the start of the 2019-20 school year, the mix of students with an active construction project seems to be running smoothly. Students come and go each day, while construction workers continue about their business in an effort to complete the referendum projects on time.

At this point activity primarily is concentrated on the north end of the High School, within portions of the High School building and on the site of the new Middle School.

Construction of the new Wrestling Room is moving forward at a rapid pace. Much of the steel is in place, along with the roof trusses. The roof decking was being added this week, along with piping. The walls for the Wrestling Room will begin to go in the week of Sept. 16, and the building is expected to be enclosed by the end of the month. At that point, interior finishes will start. Within the nearby new Gymnasium all of the roof trusses have been placed, and the roof decking should be complete by the end of this week. Electrical and HVAC components now are being installed. The roofing membrane will follow. Pouring of the new Gymnasium floor is anticipated for mid- to late-October. The new locker rooms, along with the new Middle School technical education area, quickly were taking shape this week as the crew from Boldt put the block walls in place. Masonry work on the exterior walls will begin in the near future.

With the main entrance of the High School having moved temporarily to Door 4 at the far northern end of the building, the district has a security guard in place every day from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. to cover during school hours. His primary role is to ensure the safety of students, staff and visitors as they cross with construction vehicles. Inside the High School, the four new boilers were lowered into place on Sept. 9. Crews this week began the process of making them operational. Stahl Electric of Luxemburg was on site this week to install electricity to the two pieces of new equipment donated by D&S Machine Service, a vertical machining center (VMC) and a small lathe, for use by L-C technical education students. Initial reviews of the new Marcks Lane bus drive have been positive. “Things are going better than might be expected,” says Jolene Hussong, Principal of the Intermediate School, which abuts the bus drive.Over at the Primary School, students were enjoying use of the freshly paved playground areas, lined with new games.The Primary School’s new secure entrance is working well, according to Principal Pete Kline, but not without some adjustment on the part of users. “There has been a learning process with the shift in entrances,” Kline says. “But overall people are understanding of why they can’t go into the building as quickly as they have in the past.” Construction of the new Middle School building has begun to ramp up. All of the land has been cleared and leveled, and the former main entrance has been boarded up. Early this week, preparations were being made to pour the building’s footings, with concrete trucks expected to arrive on site with the concrete. The goal is to have the walls of the new Middle School begin to go up the week of Sept. 16, a process that will take 4-6 weeks. By late October, the schedule calls for the placement of roof trusses to start on the Middle School building. With the school year underway while construction continues in full force, Nexus Solutions, which is overseeing the project for the district, is happy with how the two groups – students/staff and construction workers – are mixing. “I appreciate the fact that people are being very mindful of the project,” says Nexus Project Manager Mike Frailing. “Contractors also have been good about yielding the right of way to students and the buses. Everyone is being very safety conscious on the whole and good to work with.”