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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary_15_2005_Briefing_Session_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MINUTES FOR THE JOINT MEETING BETWEEN THE IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND THE IREDELL-STATESVILLE BOARD OF EDUCATION FEBRUARY 15, 2005 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met with the Iredell-Statesville Board of Education on Tuesday, February 15, 2005, at 5:00 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Iredell County Commissioners Present were: Chairman Sara Haire Tice Vice Chairman Godfrey Williams Steve D. Johnson Marvin Norman Ken Robertson County Staff present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Finance Director Susan Blumenstein, Support Services Director Jim Vernon, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. Board of Education Members Present were: Dr. David Cash, Chairman Tara Cashion, Vice Chairman Jim Head Charles Kelly David Parker Keith Williams School Staff present: Superintendent Dr. Terry Holliday, Deputy Supt. Dr. Steve Lane, Dr. Kenny Miller, and Construction Manager Rob Jackson. Chairman Tice called the board of commissioners to order, and Chairman Cash called the school board to order. Presentation of the Phase One Facility Study: Ed Watson, the Vice President of the Construction Control Corporation, provided an overview of the Phase One study, and a copy of his executive summary is as follows: IREDELL-STA TES VILLE SCHOOLS/ IREDELL COUNTY FACILITY SURVEY PHASE ONE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Revised) Construction Control Corporation has completed Phase One of the Facility Study as authorized by Iredell-Statesville Schools and Iredell County. The study included inspections at each of the twelve facilities included in Phase One, discussions with school and maintenance personnel, reviews of maintenance information, a review of the ISS Classroom Analysis for Proposed Facility Plan, and the Joint Task Force Long Range Facility Plan. These plans utilized the North Carolina Public Schools Facilities Guidelines to determine new construction space requirements. The personnel from Construction Control Corporation included one person specializing in architectural/structural/civil areas and one person specializing in the plumbing, HVAC, and electrical areas. The years of experience of these men exceed 55 years in total. Our review included evaluations of the following: Life Safety issues, ADA issues, overall building condition from a physical standpoint (structural, roofing, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, finishes, and building envelope), and site issues. Our review identifies all work that we believe necessary to bring a building up to a level which we would consider very good to excellent condition. This level is maintained at each school so that all schools are as equal as possible. (An example of this would be lighting levels in classrooms.) Some portions of the work we recommend may already be on a schedule or within a budget to be done. We have found it best to identify all work we see is needed in our report. Any items which are already planned can be easily deducted from the cost we included. We also identify code issues which may be interpreted differently by others and therefore not enforced. If we believe an issue could result in an expense, we include that issue in our projected costs. The project costs included in the report that are used are all inclusive. All design fees, construction, testing, surveying, furniture, equipment, demolition, land, transitional space, and reasonably anticipated permits are included. The project costs have been escalated on projects that are anticipated to bid after December 2005. In 2004, construction costs increased at a much higher rate than the historical average. The global construction market and higher petroleum costs were the prime causes. The market remains unsettled to the point that we cannot predict with confidence how the construction costs will change during the duration of this program. The cost of Phase One is projected to be $116,893,129. The cost per school in Phase One is included as Page 3. A detailed breakdown of cost for each school is included in the final report dated February 15, 2005. This cost may be broken down into: New Construction $ 80,881,290 Renovations $ 9,166,731 Transitional Classrooms Renovations $ 1,610,000 Program Contingency $ 4,960,737 Non -Construction Costs $ 11,380,338 Land $ 4,700,000 Escalation $ 4,194, 033 TOTAL $116,893,129 One of the tasks we have during a,facility study is to determine at what point do we recommend that a school be replaced rather than renovated and/or expanded. The most widely used method of this determination is the 70% Rule. The 70% Rule establishes that if the cost of renovations and additions exceeds 70% of the cost of a new school of the same size, it is more prudent to replace the school. For that reason, we recommend replacing Statesville High School, N.B. Mills Elementary School, and Mount Mourne Elementary School and utilizing the existing schools in alternative ways. N.B. MILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL $ 11,794,781 Combine with Monticello New Elementary School Renovation/Additions costs exceeded the 70% rule. MOUNT MOURNE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL $ 11,794,781 New Elementary School Renovation/Additions costs exceeded the 70% rule. SHARON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL $ 5,830,601 General renovations and additions TR 0 UTMA N EL EMENTA R Y SCHO OL $ 9,056,225 General renovations and additions 2 BRA WLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL $ 4,690,140 General renovations and additions NORTH IREDELLMIDDLE SCHOOL $ 4,385,389 General renovations and additions STATESVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL $ 1,295,866 General renovations TROUTMANMIDDLE SCHOOL $ 4,876,939 General renovations and additions WEST IREDELL MIDDLE SCHOOL $ 5,004,145 General renovations and additions LAKE NORMAN HIGH SCHOOL $ 4,856,088 Additions only STATESVILLE HIGH SCHOOL $ 39,959,850 New High School Renovation/Additions costs for Phase I and Phase 2 are projected to exceed the 70% rule. WEST IREDELL HIGH SCHOOL $ 13,348,324 General renovations and additions TOTAL PHASE ONE $116,893,129 Commissioner Robertson asked about any options in regards to ADA requirements. Watson said requirements in the past had varied, and this was why the study used ADA worst-case scenarios, or estimates, for the schools. He said the local officials (fire marshal and code enforcement workers) made the ADA determinations. Vernon added that ADA requirements were lawsuit driven. He said the North Carolina Accessibility Code was used in Iredell County, along with the "50% Rule." Iredell-Statesville Schools Construction Manager Rob Jackson then presented the following construction totals that were recommended by the system's administrative division: Summary of Construction Totals as Recommended by ISS Administration Brawley Middle $3,433,642.35 Lake Norman High $4,858,656.48 Mt. Mourne Elementary $11,148,879.34 NB Mills/Monticello Elementary $8,440,452.20 North Middle $3,420,769.92 Sharon Elementary $5,105,667.28 Statesville High $16,544,865.25 Troutman Elementary $8,578,269.65 Troutman Middle $2,929,930.69 West High $12,274,578.09 West Middle $3,419,213.44 TOTAL $80,154,924.69 Chairman Tice asked how many Iredell-Statesville schools were sprinkled. Jackson said the five schools most recently constructed or renovated (Third Creek, Lakeshore, Woodland Heights, Scotts, and Harmony) had sprinkler systems. 3 Watson said $3 a foot was the usual estimate for sprinkler systems. Dr. Miller said the system had 145-149 trailers (varied on a day-to-day basis), but it was hoped the number could be reduced to 38 in the future. He said that for the 2005-06 school term, 21 additional trailers were needed. Commissioner Robertson asked about the recommended replacement for Mount Mourne, especially since construction had occurred at the school in recent years. Miller said the school basically sat on a rock quarry, and it was a "restricted site." Dr. Holliday said the school system's recommendation on Mount Mourne was to continue it as an educational facility, but to reduce its population. Robertson asked if the school system's $80 million estimate included maintenance costs. Jackson said no. Robertson asked if there were any costs that would occur, if nothing resulted out of the study or Phase I. Dr. Holliday said one example would be increased costs at Lake Norman High. He said if nothing occurred, the school might have to use an extended -day schedule. Holliday said 98% of the county's growth had occurred in the southern end. He said schools in the other areas of the county primarily needed equity, along with the elimination of modular units. Jackson said newer schools were also more utility efficient. He said the utility costs for ADR and Wayside were $1.61 per sq. ft, prior to their closing, compared to Third Creek Elementary's cost of 94¢ for the same square footage. Parker asked Finance Director Blumenstein about the bond costs. Blumenstein said it depended on what was issued at one time. She said the RFPs were ready. Dr. Cash said the finance subcommittee could continue to meet to discuss the financing options. Dr. Holliday mentioned the Phase I timeline and said the system needed to know when the bid process could begin. He said the school system was already funding the architectural work. Blumenstein said "firm numbers" were not available from the county's tax assessor or the state (sales taxes). In regards to Certificates of Participation, she said the majority of bids had to be ready before the bonds were sold. She mentioned some estimates would be given at the Winter Planning Session (Feb. 25-26, 2005), but better numbers would be available around April 15. Dr. Holliday asked Tice and Cash to contact House Representative Ray and request that a blank place holder legislative bill be drafted before the deadline. Chairman Tice said she would talk to Mrs. Ray. Commissioner Johnson said the two boards could meet at the Winter Planning Session and discuss "minimum" numbers. He said more firm monetary figures would be available around April 15. 4 ADJOURNMENT: At approximately 5:55 p.m., Chairman Tice made a otion to adjourn the joint meeting for the board of commissioners VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Chairman Cash, then, adjourned the meeting for the board of education. Approval: Clerk to the Board