The Lewis Central Community School District Board of Directors approved a package of summer capital projects and safety upgrades on June 2, including a $406,489 bid for Titan Hill HVAC work, a $123,150.23 contract for expanded security camera storage and door contacts, and a $59,584 contract for high school trophy-case improvements.

Why it matters: the projects are part of a 25-item summer work program the district says is intended to address aging infrastructure, improve campus security and restore or upgrade athletic and building systems before the 2025–26 school year.

The board approved the Titan Hill HVAC bid from Grunwald, which the district engineer recommended. Superintendent Dr. Hartman told the board the HVAC scope will add a boiler and a chiller to supplement the school’s geothermal loop; Dr. Hartman said the boiler is expected to be installed by late August or early September and the chiller delivered and installed in October. "The 5 bids are listed as you can see them there, and so my recommendation at this point ... would be to approve the bid from Grunwald in the amount of 406,000 $489," the superintendent said during the meeting.

District staff described the security work as door contacts on all exterior doors at Titan Hill and the high school plus expanded video storage to retain footage for about 30 days (some cameras could retain 50–60 days under the chosen configuration). Mr. Evangelisti (technology/security staff) told the board he instructed vendors to provide "enough storage that we don't have to do this again." The approved contract for that scope was awarded to Prime Secured for $123,150.23.

The board also approved a phased plan to renovate and add trophy cases in the high school commons. Facilities staff member Mr. Vinchennel said Cormackey (the vendor that responded to the district’s solicitation) is the only company that engaged and offered a workable plan; the board approved an initial $59,584 phase to build three new display cases and begin work to make the existing cases match. "We're gonna reuse the glass. We'll take out the glass, take out all the shelves, redo the backing, and then put in a new shelving that fits what we need," Vinchennel said when discussing the renovation approach.

Board actions taken (summary): the board voted to approve 1) the Titan Hill HVAC bid from Grunwald ($406,489); 2) the high‑school trophy‑case renovation contract with Cormackey ($59,584 for phase 1); and 3) the door contacts and camera storage safety improvements with Prime Secured ($123,150.23). Each motion passed on roll-call vote.

Logistics and campus impacts: Dr. Hartman walked the board through a district map showing phased closures and staging areas. The high school front drive and parking area identified as phase 1 will be torn out early in the summer; staff warned there may be weeks or months when normal access to the high school front entrance is restricted. The district said deliveries, visitors and student parking will shift to the middle-school lot during parts of the work, and the district is evaluating whether some high-school office functions should temporarily move to the middle school while chiller and fire-alarm work is underway.

What’s next: staff said multiple projects remain in design or early construction phases and that the district will post weekly updates including drawings, contractor information, contract amounts, funding sources and estimated timelines on a project web page. The board will receive follow-ups as phases progress and as additional bids or change orders are needed.

Speakers quoted or cited in this article were present at the June 2 meeting and are included in the speakers list below.