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District reports near‑completion of 2019 bond projects; board awards $1.524M parking bid
Summary
District staff told the ISD 624 board that the $326M 2019 referendum has completed most projects, highlighted additional costs from updated storm‑shelter code and reported roughly $28M in additional bond‑related funds; the board approved a $1,524,000 bid for parking additions 7–0.
District staff presented a final comprehensive update on the 2019 "Building Our Future" bond program to the School Board of Independent School District 624, reviewed project scopes and budgets, and secured board approval for parking‑lot work at Sunrise Park and White Bear Lake Area High School.
Tim Wald, presenting the program summary, said the Facility Planning Committee (about 90 community members in 2018–19) developed scenarios that led to the April 2019 referendum asking voters to authorize $326,000,000 in bond funding. The committee's scope included a unified 9–12 North Campus, middle‑school reconfigurations, a new elementary (North Star) and renovations across 15 campuses and support facilities.
Wald and project staff highlighted that early favorable bid conditions helped stretch referendum dollars but that later inflation and supply pressures increased costs; they identified the 2020 adoption of ICC 500 (storm shelter requirements) as an unanticipated cost driver, estimating about $8.5 million in additional storm‑shelter premiums districtwide. "Across all of our projects, it came to about 8 and a half million dollars in additional cost for storm shelters," staff said.
Finance director Andy Johnson summarized revenue and expenditure comparisons, noting the referendum amount remained $326,000,000 while bond premiums and investment earnings provided additional funds. Johnson reported an approximately $17,000,000 bond premium and about $13,100,000 in bond investment earnings, which together with other reallocations produced roughly $28,000,000 of additional funds available to the program.
Project highlights included transportation facility upgrades, media‑center renovations across schools, a new North Star Elementary and a major high‑school consolidation at North Campus. For the high school the earlier review‑and‑comment estimate of $185,436,000 was reported to be essentially met or slightly undershot in current projections. The team said coordinated long‑term facility maintenance (LTFM) work allowed the district to address deferred maintenance while bond projects were open.
Board members asked detailed questions about punch lists, retention and closeout documentation, contingency percentages (staff described using a 5% starting point and an overall contingency approach and said some projects carried higher contingency estimates), land purchases (staff reported about $9.5 million spent to date versus a $6 million review estimate) and whether third‑party post‑construction security assessments had been completed (staff answered no; security assessments remain an ongoing internal activity and projects remain in phased commissioning).
On operational item C1, staff recommended awarding bids for two parking‑lot projects (Sunrise Park and high‑school parking additions). The board moved and seconded the recommendation to award the contract to Northwest Asphalt Incorporated for $1,524,000, the lowest of seven responsive bids; a roll‑call vote recorded seven ayes and the motion passed 7–0. The meeting then moved toward an announced closed session to discuss labor‑negotiation strategy under Minnesota Statutes (17.98.01–17.98.25).
What happened next: the board approved the parking contract and voted to convene a closed session on labor negotiations; staff said several project punch‑list and commissioning tasks will continue through the summer as buildings complete commissioning and closeout.
