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Rutland board approves $339,942 for design work on RIMS kitchen, servery and lobby renovation
Summary
The Rutland City School District board on June 23 authorized up to $339,942 to retain architectural and engineering services to advance a $3.99 million renovation of Rutland Intermediate and Middle Schools' shared kitchen, servery and main lobby; funding will draw from food service reserves, working capital and the FY28 budget.
The Rutland City Board of School Commissioners on June 23 approved up to $339,942 to secure architectural and engineering services for a proposed renovation of the Rutland Intermediate and Middle Schools (RIMS) shared kitchen, cafeteria servery and main entrance lobby.
Superintendent Pamela Reed introduced the project; Director of Facilities Glenn Scott presented TruexCullins Architecture & Design’s concept pre-design and a high-level cost estimate of $3,992,935 that covers baseline construction, soft costs and a 4% annual inflation adjustment. Scott said the work is planned in two phases, with Phase 1 in Summer 2027 focusing on the main-level servery, kitchen prep areas and installation of a vertical materials lift, and Phase 2 in Summer 2028 addressing the main lobby reconfiguration, ADA ramp installation and lower-level refrigeration upgrades. Scott said the design will replace an aging dumbwaiter with a high-capacity vertical lift, add a new energy-efficient walk-in cooler and freezer, create multiple dedicated prep stations and a code-compliant handwash island, and expand commercial dishwashing capacity to support a shift from disposable to reusable tableware.
CFO Ted Plemenos described the district’s proposed funding strategy. The board would allocate approximately $1 million from the Food Service Fund surplus (maintaining a monthly operating reserve target of $400,000–$500,000), use $2.5 million from working capital reserves and absorb about $500,000 within the FY28 operational budget. The district has also worked with Genuine Foods on roughly $200,000 in equipment investments this fiscal year. Plemenos cautioned that the $3.9 million figure is a preliminary projection and that retained project management and continued design work could refine costs and capture efficiencies.
Board members asked about student seating and footprint impacts; Scott said the reconfiguration primarily optimizes underused space and requires only a minor restroom wall adjustment for the ramp switchback, while still meeting district and state seating requirements. The board approved the expenditure motion (mover: Marybeth Lennox-Levins; seconder: Cathy Solsaa). The motion carried; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally.
Next steps include contracting with TruexCullins to begin the Construction Design Phase, completing Construction Documents by August 2026, selecting a Construction Manager by December 2026, and seeking bids in September–November 2026 ahead of the phased construction in summers 2027 and 2028.
The board also approved routine consent items and adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
