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Hardy County BOE hears updates on solar, elevator grant and a middle-school safe-entry bid that exceeds grant funding
Summary
Board received facility updates: East Hardy solar piers 80% installed and racking 50% complete, state-approved elevator work ready to proceed, and a middle-school safe-entrance bid about $600,000 over the allocated SBA grant prompting scope reductions.
Board members spent a substantial portion of the meeting on facilities and capital projects, receiving contractor and maintenance reports that flagged progress on solar installations, a state-approved elevator grant and an over-budget safe-school entrance bid.
The maintenance and transportation presenter, Josh, told the board the contractor bids for the middle-school safe-school entrance came in roughly $600,000 over the SBA grant allocated for the project. He said the administration and design team met with the contractor and created a priority list that would remove nonessential items — including a work room, an additional bathroom and a conference room — to reduce scope and cost. "Eliminating the bathroom alone is going to be about half of that $600,000," Josh said, and contractors cited long travel times and fuel prices (about $5 per gallon) as major drivers of higher labor costs.
Jeff with ESG provided contractor sequencing and site-security details for work at Morefield and Morfield sites. He reported HBAC equipment is on site and crews have started internal wiring; crews will wait to set roof equipment until after school is out. On the East Hardy solar project he said about 80% of piers are installed and about 50% of the racking is in place; commissioning had been targeted for early June but a local weekend event forced a brief pause. "We had to stop them for a Saturday little-league event; it pushed things back a day or two," Jeff said.
The superintendent reported the state has granted the district’s elevator request and that parts are already available; staff are coordinating with the state inspector to determine whether a confirming letter is required before work proceeds. Josh said the East Elementary generator has been ordered and is expected to arrive by July 15; once installed it will power refrigerators and freezers during outages, a capability the school has not previously had.
Board members and staff also discussed building systems. Staff warned that recent flow restrictions on faucets and toilets have led to increased backups and more frequent plumbing service calls; the board discussed removing or adjusting flow restrictors to avoid problems during high-occupancy events such as graduations. Lighting work is largely complete though a few fixtures remain, and custodial sequencing will follow contractor work so strip-and-wax operations can proceed.
What’s next: the board was given a prioritized scope to bring the safe-entrance project within budget; no final contract award or financing decision was recorded in the meeting. The board will consider revised bid options and scope reductions before moving forward.
