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Officials hear KC Pro report showing south side settlement at Mary Herbert Education Center; repair estimates top $1 million
Summary
KC Pro surveyors reported up to three-quarters to an inch of downward movement across the south side of Mary Herbert Education Center and offered options ranging from roughly $190,000 to more than $1 million to stabilize and repair parts of the building; board discussion focused on next steps, engineering and timing.
Rob Kramer of KC Pro and district maintenance director Corey Nicolette told the Emporia Board of Education that a repeat elevation survey shows the Mary Herbert Education Center has measurable settlement on its south side and along one corridor.
Kramer said his December 2024 re-survey showed “about a quarter inch of movement” near the center hallway and downward movement “anywhere from an inch up to 3 quarters of an inch” through the south side of the structure. He said the structure “appears to be in a safe condition, at the at the time I shot the elevations.”
The consultants offered two broad approaches and a set of related work items. A stabilization option described as intended to “stop it from going down further” was estimated at about $190,000 to $220,000; a more extensive package that included structural lifting and other repairs pushes known costs higher, and the district’s staff summary put a cost estimate “to stop it” at roughly $950,000 to just over $1,000,000, not counting unknowns.
Kramer said engineering fees and additional consulting would add to the budget. He cited a $10,000 consulting estimate to confirm approach and said professional engineering drawings for the work commonly start around $20,000 and increase depending on scope. The consultants also flagged related work costs that will be needed regardless of whether the structure is stabilized or raised: a roof section over the affected area estimated at $250,000–$325,000; resetting historic-style doors (approximately $105,000); replacing about 25 leaking windows (budgeted roughly $4,000 per window, about $100,000); wall demo and refinishing (budgeted up to $200,000); and electrical rework (budgeted $50,000). Kramer warned these are estimates and that unknown conditions revealed during demolition could increase costs.
Kramer described soil movement linked to drought and expansive clay soils: “the more drought we have...the more that soil dries out and it can't support the load under each column.” He said the team examined only the vertical columns (the uprights) and had not assessed connecting stringers; lifting the building rather than merely stabilizing it would introduce additional work and potential costs because the connecting members were not analyzed.
District staff and the consultants also discussed a regulatory threshold: the presenters said reaching roughly 40% substantial renovation could trigger compliance with current fire codes, which would add “several hundred thousand dollars” to the project if the district exceeded that threshold and had to bring other parts of the building up to modern code.
Board members pressed for timing and next steps. Kramer said the district needs to approve initial engineering work before detailed designs can begin and that work on procurement and drawings will take months. He said construction could not realistically start until favorable weather; he estimated about three months of construction time once work commenced, depending on contract timing and submissions.
The board did not take formal action on the item at the meeting; the presentation closed with staff work planned to obtain engineering proposals and refine budgets.
