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Board hears summer 2025 capital projects update for Lakeland School, from carpet to sensory room
Summary
Staff gave a progress update on multiple Lakeland School capital projects slated for summer 2025, including carpet replacement, a multifaceted sensory room, front-entry refresh, boiler work, pool audio installation and a renewable-energy study; most items are in design, bidding or procurement stages.
Walworth County Children with Disabilities Education Board members on March 19 received an update on the district’s 2025 capital-improvement projects, many of which are scheduled for summer work at Lakeland School.
Staff said carpet removal and installation is expected to begin at or near June 16 and will start in teacher offices before moving to administrative areas; county IT and building services partners are coordinating schedules to minimize disruption. The courtyard design — including sunshades, sails and pergolas — remains in design with the county Department of Public Works (DPW). An exterior-siding assessment by DPW will determine next steps for repair work.
Front-entry colonnade refresh work is planned between June 14 and July 6, pending award of a contract after a third quote is received, staff said. Bids for a cubby-locker replacement are due next Tuesday; four companies attended the pre-bid meeting and five firms were actively bidding through the county procurement portal.
Nicole Whitman described progress on a planned multifaceted sensory (MSC) room that will be divided into an active and a calm side. She said the calm side will include fiber-optic lights, bubble tubes and ‘‘sparkle bench’’ seating, while the active side will feature magnetic walls, hooks for swings and small trampolines; lighting in both rooms will change color as part of the design. Construction for the MSC modifications is scheduled for this summer with the goal of opening in the next school year, Whitman said.
Pool projects include an audio installation at the Gensage pool scheduled June 23–July 2, with equipment procurement and programming underway, and a planned pool alkalinity-management unit intended to manage pH automatically and reduce chemical handling and staff hours. Boiler No. 2 work this summer will replace gas valves, burners and clean the heat exchanger; staff estimated the scope should be under $25,000 and anticipated awarding a contract in March to extend the boilers’ service life.
A planned passenger-van purchase is under review for a change in scope from a high-top to a medium-top van; staff said the CARA Foundation has indicated the foundation is agreeable to the change and that an estimated price is about $90,440. The county received a preliminary renewable-energy study from Harwood that examined photovoltaics, wind and geothermal options; staff said the final report should be available later this month and that a photovoltaic project is on the CIP for 2027.
Security upgrades are being developed in phases; DPW is preparing a phase-1 assessment to identify needs such as camera recording and dispatch visibility at multiple county facilities.
Why this matters: many projects affect building access, student learning spaces and safety systems; scheduling and coordination with contractors, county IT and DPW are critical to ensure work is completed before the next school year.
Board members asked clarifying questions about the security scope and camera coverage, and about coordination among county teams working on multiple overlapping summer projects. No formal actions or votes were taken on the capital projects during the meeting.
