Bullitt County construction bids come in about $5 million below last year; Calhoun appears as low bidder

Architect Kate Noble Ward told the Bullitt County Board of Education on June 16, 2025, that bids for the Bullitt East and Bullitt Central projects came in significantly lower than expected — roughly $5 million less than last year — and recommended moving forward with contract awards this month.

The lower bids affect multiple packages across the two sites. Ward said Calhoun Construction was the apparent low bidder for general construction whether the projects were bid separately or combined. Train US was the only bidder on the controls package. For technology, Kentucky Electrical Services (KES) was the low bidder for Bullitt East and Delta Services was the apparent low bidder for Bullitt Central; Central’s technology package was larger because it included an intercom changeover tied to the district’s life-safety project and an emergency generator in the general-construction package.

Ward provided several cost estimates: the apparent low-bid construction average is about $357 per square foot based on the received bids, and the combined construction cost using those bids is roughly $36.5 million when cooperative purchasing proposals for audio/life-safety equipment are included. She said audio-enhancement co-op proposals are still pending but estimated about $750,000 for Central and $600,000 for East. Using the district’s prior soft-cost estimates carried forward from the BG-3 phase, Ward said the total bond amount the board might consider bonding is just under $43 million, pending receipt of final co-op proposals and the BG‑1 update.

Ward also reviewed several change orders on the agenda. Items she described included access-control additions at four field-house door openings and a projection-screen spec change; a combined change order covering masonry credits, louver infill, foundation support changes and brick-angle adjustments; site revisions that added sidewalks, flat concrete work and riprap around detention basins; a correction to a detention basin at Robin Way that requires a headwall and new piping (listed as change order 27); and a guardrail required by the building inspector at Bullitt Central’s culvert near the tennis courts. She said two batting-tunnel installations (one at North, one at East) were in procurement paperwork; the equipment purchase would be a separate purchase order.

On schedule, Ward said Bullitt East is on track for a May 2026 substantial completion and that the district expects to execute contracts and begin site work concurrently for both projects, with an expected ground-breaking/shovel-in-the-ground date around July 1. She urged the board to consider two critical contract items at the board’s Thursday meeting: awarding the general-construction contract to Calhoun and approving proposals for special inspections; Ward said those two items are necessary to maximize summer construction progress.

Ward attributed the improved bid climate to increased competition, slower construction-market pressure easing and bidders applying lessons learned from previous Bullitt projects. She cautioned that tariffs and weather remain external risks.

Next steps: Ward said staff will finalize the BG‑1 bond application once cooperative-purchase proposals are received, then present contract award recommendations — including the Calhoun combined-contract option that showed about $500,000 additional savings if Calhoun is awarded both general-construction contracts — for board action at the next meeting.