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Facilities update: projects on track but board pauses on Tomahawk retaining wall and questions dance-floor finish
Summary
Facilities director reported progress at several school construction sites and raised a $34,000 option to replace a vinyl dance floor with a more shock-absorbent system; board approved most change orders but removed a parking-stone charge.
Tom Tyson, a facilities official, told the Berkeley County Board of Education on July 21 that construction and bond-funded work across the district is advancing but flagged a few items that needed board direction.
Tyson reported that exterior waterproofing and brick veneer work are progressing at Hedgesville Early Learning Academy, interior partitions and steel work are advancing, and the Tomahawk intermediate addition is near completion except for a potential retaining wall. He showed photos of completed cabinets, epoxy floors and an outdoor classroom patio.
At Martinsburg High School, Tyson paused installation of a vinyl dance floor in the practice/dance room to ask the board whether to add a full shock-absorbent subfloor system. The currently contracted product is a 3.5-millimeter resilient vinyl top layer to be installed directly on concrete. Tyson said adding an underlayment and plywood subfloor for additional shock absorption would cost about $34,000.
"It will work perfectly fine as it is. It just will not have the shock-absorbent capabilities that, you know, I'm sure would be desired," Tyson said. Board members raised safety questions about tumbling and other high-impact activities. One board member asked the architect to advise and suggested the district compare finishes used at nearby schools.
Tyson also recommended a retaining wall and sidewalk at Tomahawk to make a steep slope mowable and to serve as a backstop near the play area; he said the retaining-wall package (including fill, grading, fence and a connecting sidewalk) would cost about $67,000 and would be paid from project contingency. Board members asked about runoff and drainage; Tyson said the design includes drainage tied into the site system.
Tyson presented a list of change orders and explained that some charges were reductions (for example, removing a handrail if the retaining wall is added); other items were added drainage at the outdoor classroom, additional exit signs required by the fire marshal, sewer-line reroutes caused by portables that conflicted with the addition, and added cubbies to reach 28-student capacity in some classrooms. The board removed one proposed charge — roughly $24,250 for additional aggregate at a contractor construction entrance/parking area — from the approval.
Tyson said most HVAC projects across the district are on schedule for unit startup the week before teachers return; one rooftop unit for an auxiliary gym was delayed in production and will not be ready at the opening day. He also reported progress at Mountain Ridge primary and middle sites and said Tomahawk’s system piping replacement is complete.
The board approved the remaining change orders with the single exclusion of the contractor parking/stone line item; Tyson said he will follow up on dance-floor lifespan and comparable installations at other schools and consult the design architect before recommending a change order on the dance-room subfloor.
No litigation or binding policy changes were proposed during the facilities update; the board voted on change orders as part of the meeting’s action items.
