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Wausau board hears Riverview Elementary HVAC and roof plan; staff recommends design funding to refine costs
Summary
District staff and Dynamic Consulting Engineers presented a plan to pair a roof replacement with a full HVAC redesign at Riverview Elementary, recommending advancing design to a 60–75% plan set so the district can seek competitive construction-manager bids; preliminary design-phase fees were estimated at roughly $380,000 and total project ranges were cited at about $4.2–$6.8 million.
The Wausau School District Board heard a detailed presentation on Nov. 10 about plans to replace the roof and modernize HVAC systems at Riverview Elementary, with buildings-and-grounds director Ryan Omaske and David Grama of Dynamic Consulting Engineers outlining a stepwise design and delivery approach.
Grama said much of the school’s mechanical equipment is at the end of its useful life and that roofing and HVAC work must be coordinated: "They kind of go hand in hand," he said, adding that ceilings will need to come down when ductwork is replaced and that the design should include structural and electrical upgrades. He described the recommended next step as advancing documents to a 60–75% plan set so the district can get accurate cost estimates and solicit construction-manager preconstruction services.
The consultants offered conservative budgeting guidance. Grama said his HVAC-design fee would likely be in the $250,000–$275,000 range and that electrical/general trades design work would be about $105,000, totaling roughly $380,000 for the design and preconstruction package. He said earlier high-level project cost ranges the team had seen were approximately $4.2 million to $6.8 million, subject to refinement after the design and competitive bidding.
Omaske emphasized the operational benefits of completing multiple trades at once, noting that replacing ceilings and upgrading fluorescent lighting to LED while accessing ceiling cavities adds value at marginal additional labor cost. He said the district would use construction-manager input during preconstruction to refine schedule and budgeting and to reduce the risk of costly change orders during construction.
Board members asked technical and financial questions, including whether existing chillers and boilers could be reused; Grama said the building has three boilers and one ~180-ton chiller and that the chiller (installed in 2016) likely does not need replacement while much of the remaining equipment is 20–25 years old and approaching failure. Grama also discussed options for locating new equipment to minimize structural reinforcement of the roof and noted tradeoffs between rooftop and ground-mounted systems.
No formal action was taken; the presentation was informational. Administration said it will continue design work, firm up the 60–75% plans and return with budget and phasing proposals so the board can determine funding options (including referendum timing) before committing to construction.
