Oak Grove R-VI board forwards ASI No. 3 drainage estimate to city, authorizes work toward roughly $600,000 change order

The Oak Grove R-VI School District board voted to forward ASI No. 3, a construction drainage estimate that would close a detention basin and add parking, to the city for civil review so project teams can complete drawings that would enable a change order estimated at roughly $600,000.

District staff told the board this was the third meeting at which ASI No. 3 has been discussed and that the city has granted a variance related to the 40-hour detention requirement. Staff said the variance and the design change would not need to return to planning and zoning or city council but would require civil review before contractors prepare final drawings and a formal change order is issued.

“This is still a change order. It is still 600,000,” a staff member said during the discussion, adding that later adjustments from the estimating company and savings in laterals remain possible but were not yet quantified. Board members voted to authorize staff to proceed with submitting the revised drawings to the city for civil review.

Why it matters: District staff said closing the basin would add about 40 to 45 parking spaces and bring the project into compliance with current city code while reducing long-term maintenance concerns associated with an open detention basin. Staff also said the city’s willingness to reduce the detention requirement should produce roughly a 25% cost reduction for the portions affected by the variance.

Details discussed at the meeting included a staff estimate that the 25% reduction would translate to about $117,000 in savings on the high school portion and about $48,000 on the ECC portion — roughly $165,000 in combined savings — compared with earlier inflated bid figures. Staff said the overall change order would still be higher than the original bid but that the variance is “worth it” to meet code and secure parking and other site improvements.

Board discussion touched on the project’s funding and contingency. Staff reported leftover bond proceeds from the project’s bond sale and premium — noting the district sold a $23,000,000 bond and realized a premium that left about $6,000,000 available for project work — and said the drainage change would be paid from bond funds and would not reduce funds earmarked for other purchases such as gym equipment, scoreboards or cafeteria work. Staff also identified about $350,000 in contingency for unforeseen items such as underground electrical issues discovered when excavating.

The board took a formal vote after a motion and second; the chair called the question and the motion carried with all in favor. Staff said the next step is for the contractor and civil engineer to submit the revised drawings to the city’s civil reviewers; once the city confirms the scope aligns with the approved variance and civil comments are addressed, the contractor will produce final pricing in the form of a change order for board review.

Staff noted the approval to advance the drawings does not itself authorize the change order to be charged against the district; it authorizes the work needed to get a definitive price and the city’s technical approval. The board scheduled no additional action at that meeting beyond forwarding the ASI to the city and approving staff to proceed.

The discussion also referenced other site work around campus that remains on a prioritized list for leftover bond proceeds, including parking lot repairs, athletic equipment and building finishes; staff said those other items were not affected by the ASI decision and would continue to be tracked against the district’s remaining bond funds.