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Commissioners approve budget amendment to cover Lexington Middle School renovation overruns
Summary
Davidson County commissioners approved a budget amendment at their May 27 meeting to cover roughly $562,600 in added change orders for Lexington Middle School, citing unexpected asbestos, temporary HVAC rentals and additional HVAC replacements.
Davidson County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a budget amendment using restricted sales-tax dollars to cover additional costs tied to the ongoing Lexington Middle School renovation.
County project architect Dan Norman told commissioners the work remains on schedule for most of the project but that several unanticipated items generated extra charges, including newly discovered asbestos in the school library and administration area, added information-technology infrastructure work, rented temporary HVAC units used during student testing, and four additional HVAC replacements.
"We actually have it as a change order request. That was a total of around $78,265," Norman said, referring to a cluster of extra costs tied to hazardous-material abatement and communications work. He separately identified a temporary HVAC rental cost of $66,905 and a larger mechanical replacement estimate of $339,279 for four air-handling units. Norman said those figures were the principal drivers of the requested amendment.
Commissioners said contingency funds were small for a project of this scope and that the county had previously budgeted a roughly $100,000 contingency for the work. County staff said the additional dollars would come from restricted Article 46 sales-tax revenues the county expects to over-collect this year. The board approved the amendment on a voice vote; no roll-call tally was read aloud.
Project timeline and next steps: contractors expect most renovation work to be substantially complete in August, with Norman reporting crews planned to return around Aug. 9. County and school officials said one mechanical scope could take up to eight weeks after order placement and might extend after the start of the school year.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the renovations improve school facilities and protect students and staff, but the overruns highlight the difficulty of forecasting costs for decades-old school buildings where hidden hazardous materials or aging systems may be discovered during work.
The vote instructs county finance staff and the school project team to process the change orders and monitor remaining contingencies; commissioners requested follow-up reports on whether any of the mechanical units could be repaired rather than replaced.
