The Madison County Board of Education on Sept. 25 awarded three bid packages totaling $135,176 for construction of four dugouts at Clark Morris Middle School.

Chris (district construction/facilities staff) told the board the district split the project into three bid packages to increase local contractor participation and reduce bonding barriers for smaller firms. He said the districts earlier cost estimate was higher and the combined awarded packages came in substantially lower than that estimate.

The board approved the following awards: concrete and structural steel (Bid Package 1) to Circle G Excavating for $53,560; unit masonry with grouted steel reinforcement (Bid Package 2) to Macintosh Masonry for $37,296; and wood framing, shingles and sheet metal roofing (Bid Package 3) to Stewart Contracting for $44,320. The three awards total $135,176.

Timeline: Chris told the board that, pending the boards approval, the district planned a preconstruction meeting Sept. 30 with work to begin Oct. 1 and hoped to finish before the next school year or the districts stated target date.

Scope: The project covers four dugouts; Chris described them as a set of four new dugouts (two for baseball and two for softball fields), and said recent city code and permitting requirements added some cost to the project compared with older dugout builds.

Motion and vote: Mr. Rutherford moved to award the three bid packages as recommended; Miss Brock seconded. The board voted in favor and the motion carried.

Why it matters: The award puts small local contractors in competition for work and advances athletic-facility improvements for Clark Morris Middle School.