Mount Hope High School construction team reports steady progress, budget update

Speaker 1 reported steady progress on the Mount Hope High School construction program and summarized recent work, budget figures and schedule milestones.

The presenter said crews have completed demolition of a 10‑square area, set site trailers on stone pads, installed erosion controls near a creek and removed bleachers and the press box. On the athletic fields, dugouts and posts removed from the softball area have been salvaged and set aside for reuse on the new field. "We're right on track for where we thought we're gonna be," Speaker 1 said.

On sitework and structures, Speaker 1 described foundation and formwork progress in Buildings D, C and E, rebar installation with rebar caps, and daily verification by a third‑party tester to confirm proper rebar placement and dry, clean forms before concrete placement. The presenter also noted anchor‑bolt layout using GPS and interior slab tie‑ins. Paving operations included a mill‑and‑overlay that was completed before school started and restriping at the front drop‑off area.

On budget, the transcript records a billed amount presented as roughly $17,000,007 and a pay‑go reimbursement reported at just over $7,000,000; Speaker 1 asked staff (referred to as Danielle in the meeting) to keep those figures updated. The presenter said the project has had "0 change" in change orders to date and that current exposure for potential additional costs was shown at about 20 percent of total project percentage, which could reflect extra scope or enhancements if required.

Schedule and milestones provided by Speaker 1 included a contract award on June 23, a notice to proceed issued June 30 and a site ceremony on July 14. Steel erection was projected to start in January 2026 with grading having begun earlier in October; Mount Hope High School phase 1 substantial completion was given as 05/28/2027 and phase 2 ending 12/31/2027. Speaker 2 added that a central cabinet portion is expected to be available by year‑end and could host a regional meeting in early 2026.

On repairs and contingency funding, Speaker 1 flagged leaking skylights as an example of work not in the original scope that may require separate funding. Speaker 3 described efforts to identify funding sources for items outside the bond scope and said health‑and‑safety projects may be added to the new capital plan for reimbursement over two years: "We have 2 years that we have to pay for it," Speaker 3 said.

Formal meeting business was brief: the meeting opened with a motion and second to approve the prior minutes and advanced without a recorded roll‑call vote.

Next steps noted in the meeting were continued monitoring of budget and exposures, ongoing third‑party testing and concrete placements for foundations, and planned milestones through 2026–2027. The presenters asked staff to continuously update the budget and reimbursements and to report back at future preconstruction updates.