×

Wood BOE considers Erickson project costs

The Wood County Board of Education has asked for options on completion of new bathrooms and concession stands at Erickson All-Sports Facility after bids came in over budget.

The board has requested Superintendent Will Hosaflook bring information to the Nov. 27 board meeting, with action possible Dec. 6 or Dec. 18.

Hosaflook said five companies submitted bids for the project, with the low bidder coming in nearly $100,000 above the $700,000 allotted for the project when it was approved in June.

The work at Erickson was one of several athletic facility projects approved in the final months of the previous school board and administration.

Board President Rick Olcott said with the current bids, the cost of the project would be well over $1 million. The Erickson Committee already has spent $200,000 laying footers and a foundation for the bathrooms and the board recently spent $42,000 for architectural and engineering work at the site.

Olcott said the original $700,000 requested to complete the project underestimated the cost of running utilities to the building and relied on $40,000-$50,000 in volunteer labor, something that cannot be done since the school district, not the committee, is in charge of the project.

Board member Ron Tice said the current foundation is not ADA compliant and portions of the work likely will have to be redone or entirely scrapped.

“They’ve already spent $200,000 and some of that stuff we might not be able to use,” Tice said.

Board member Debbie Hendershot said she worries the board will regularly be asked to commit one amount to a project but find costs are much higher after an agreement is reached.

“If that’s the case, there’s no reason for us to set a number,” she said. “If the old board gave $700,000, we need to stay in that range.”

Olcott said the problem was the order in which things were done. Instead of estimating costs based on the scope of the project, soliciting bids and then approving funding for the project, “this was done in a very non-sequential way,” he said. “This one was done almost inverted.”

Olcott and other board members were careful to place no blame on the Erickson Committee, which has raised millions of dollars to build the south Parkersburg athletic facility.

“People were acting on the best of intentions,” Olcott said. “They have done a phenomenal job. That facility wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for them.”

Both Tice and board member Justin Raber called for the project to be rebid, but Assistant Superintendent Mike Fling, who oversees facilities for Wood County Schools, said the outcome likely would be the same.

“Unless you are going to change the project, rebidding is not likely to change the price,” he said.

Raber suggested the board rescind the previous board vote which set the $700,000 amount, but also could state the board’s intention to complete the project.

Olcott said he believes the board should look at its options, but needs to move forward with the project.

“There are funds available to do this,” which are set aside in a special fund, he said. “It’s not taking away from educational funds. I tend to lean toward moving forward with the project, just because I know how much skin in the game this committee has had, and it’s more and more difficult these days to raise funds.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.15/week.

Subscribe Today