Mercator board tables field-house bids after prices exceed budget; state assistance offer debated
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Summary
The Mercator Board voted to table consideration of field-house bids after staff said bids exceeded the budget by about $200,000; the board discussed and moved to accept a KDE-related assistance offer but transcript records differing dollar figures and no recorded vote.
At the Jan. 6 special meeting, Speaker 2 told the Mercator Board of Education that bids for a lakes field-house project were opened and “were well exceeding our budget.” Speaker 2 recommended tabling the item while the district explores having maintenance staff perform allowable internal work; the transcript records this recommendation as "I would like to do is just ask for this to be tabled at this time."
The presenter stated, "The bids came in, about $200,000 more than we had budgeted." Board members then voiced support and the meeting record shows multiple members saying "Aye." Those named in the transcript as voting "Aye" in sequence were Drew, Covey, Essendon and the chair; the chair also announced a vote of "aye." The motion to table the bids was recorded as approved in the provided transcript.
Later the board discussed accepting an assistance offer described in the transcript alternately as "SFCC" and "SFTC," which a presenter said is “part of KDE.” The program was described as an offer that could pay a portion of future bonds; speakers referenced different dollar amounts during the discussion: one speaker said "an offer of assistance for $18,743," another speaker asked if that equals "$11,007.43 a year," and a motion was made to accept an amount stated as "$11,743." The transcript includes a motion to accept and a seconder, but no completed vote on that motion is recorded in the provided segments.
Board members did not finalize a contract or award in the meeting’s public record for the field-house; instead, they tabled the bid consideration and discussed options for reducing project costs and using maintenance staff where permissible. The record shows the board considered state-level assistance but the final acceptance or rejection of that assistance is not recorded in the excerpt provided.
Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff will explore internal work options to reduce costs for the field-house project, and the board will carry the assistance-offer motion forward for a vote at a later time (vote not recorded in supplied transcript).