Facilities committee approves sending Unionville Elementary crawl-space change order to full board; bond projects updated

The Union County Public Schools Facilities Committee voted Sept. 24 to send change order No. 4 for work at Unionville Elementary to the full school board for approval. The staff member presenting the item said the change order will exceed the committee—s $100,000 approval threshold and totals $16,038.37.

The change order and other project updates were discussed during a roughly six-minute meeting that included formal motions to approve the agenda and open-session minutes and a final motion to forward the Unionville change order to the board. Chair, Facilities Committee, moved each procedural item and committee members seconded and voted in favor.

Staff members also reported that Porter Ridge High School—s tennis-court project closed with a change-order deduct. "This money will be coming back to us in the amount of $38,983," the facilities staff member said, noting those funds are contingency that were not needed to address soils on that site.

On the district bond program, the facilities staff member provided updates across multiple 2022 and 2024 bond projects. For the 2022 bond at East Elementary School, staff said paving of the main entrance drive and front parking area and grading for an outdoor classroom are underway and the anticipated completion date is in October. At Forest Hills, boring is complete for the premium bond utilities work for a barn and crews are continuing punch-list work ahead of the next phase. For the 2024 bond, the RFQ (request for qualifications) question period for the Parkwood replacement school closed the day before the meeting; staff said they received eight questions and will respond as part of the procurement process and that the RFQ remains open through Oct. 3. For East Junior Middle School, staff said a pre-bid meeting was held Sept. 16 and bids will be opened and read Oct. 9.

Committee members asked operational questions about the East Elementary site plan, including whether there would be a sidewalk to reach the playfield and where the barn would be located. The facilities staff member said there is a sidewalk plan and that the barn will be located near the front-center of the site adjacent to the main roadway and parking; the staff member offered to send a schematic. Members also asked whether stadium and turf work could affect graduation; staff said sequencing in the design-build RFQ is intended to "assure we meet the school's needs" but could not guarantee the stadium would be available and noted "we do have Wendy University reserved" as a backup.

The committee also received a surplus-inventory report covering transportation, facilities and school-nutrition items; Mister McManus, a district staff member, described the list as extensive but said it was straightforward. The committee set its next meeting for Oct. 22 at 9 a.m. via Zoom and adjourned.

Votes at a glance

- Approve meeting agenda — motion approved (committee vote recorded as 4 yes, 0 no in the meeting transcript). - Approve open-session meeting minutes — motion approved (committee vote recorded in the meeting transcript as affirmative). - Send Unionville Elementary change order No. 4 (amount $16,038.37) to the full board for approval — motion approved (committee vote recorded as 4 yes, 0 no in the meeting transcript).

Informational items: Porter Ridge High tennis-court change-order deduct ($38,983 returning to contingency); bond-program updates for East Elementary (paving/outdoor classroom; anticipated October completion), Forest Hills (boring complete for utilities/barn), Parkwood replacement school RFQ (8 questions received; RFQ open through Oct. 3) and East Junior Middle School (bids open Oct. 9). Surplus inventory list provided.