School board hears $162,000 estimate to relocate gas regulator at Smart Middle School

Davenport Comm School District staff told the school board that relocating a natural-gas regulation station at the Smart Middle School site could cost roughly $162,000 and that the station serves the surrounding neighborhood as well as the school.

Josh Barnes, the staff member who presented the item, said engineers initially noted the station's location but did not anticipate the scale of relocation costs when the building project was planned. "We didn't expect the cost to be quite as much as it was, but right now it looks like they're giving us cost around $162,000 to move this," he said, adding the device dates to the 1960s and that MidAmerican had told the district any update would typically be limited to replacement of seals and O-rings.

Directors pressed staff for specifics about where the regulator would be relocated, whether the work would cause service disruptions to homes, and whether MidAmerican would consider upgrading the existing station instead of relocating it. Director Barnes said the district should clarify the potential for neighborhood disruption before taking action. Director Beck asked why the engineers had not flagged the full cost earlier in the planning process.

Board members and staff raised several practical concerns: the regulator currently sits in an area that would cut into planned athletic practice space if left in place; the district has contingency money that could cover the work but members questioned whether the district should bear the full cost if MidAmerican will benefit from a new installation. One director noted the station's components "are supposed to be designed to last a hundred years," and asked whether the district should pay for an upgrade that would largely benefit the utility.

Staff said they would follow up with MidAmerican to confirm the exact relocation site on district maps, determine whether the utility expects to do full replacement or partial repairs, confirm any potential service disruption, and seek a timeline. Directors also asked staff to pull the building's annual gas bill and the district's total gas costs for context on whether the expense might be justified on operational savings.

The board did not take formal action on the item; directors asked staff to return with the additional information and timeline so the board could consider options at a later meeting.