Finance committee approves $2,619.65 addition for Germantown High hydroponic garden project

The finance committee voted to recommend that the full Germantown School District Board of Education approve an additional $2,619.65 for a hydroponic vegetable garden construction project in Classroom A102 at Germantown High School.

District staff said the original award for the hydroponic project was for an amount not to exceed $125,000; staff requested the additional $2,619.65 to cover unforeseen expenses. Mr. Lord (presenting staff) and other staff reported specific overrun items to explain the request: flooring repair in a hallway to access plumbing (about $3,000), replacement of the originally-specified reverse-osmosis water storage tank with a smaller tank and pump that would fit through the door (about $4,000), and roughly $2,000 in miscellaneous construction expenses. Staff reported that despite those overrun items the project overall remained within the broader budget because earlier work had left the project under budget relative to the initial authorization.

A motion was made with a positive recommendation to the full board to approve the additional $2,619.65 funded from the food and nutrition budget; the committee recorded the motion (mover: Evert) and second (Brown) and approved the recommendation by voice vote. Committee members asked who performed the construction work; staff said a contractor performed the flooring work. The committee approved the recommendation.

The committee did not change the project scope at the meeting; staff said the additional expense covered unforeseen site issues and equipment re-specification.