posted by Mike Madison at 10:41 AM /
Architects for the Mt. Lebanon School District last night presented drawings of a significantly renovated high school that included a new gymnasium, pool and academic wing and carried a price tag of about $120 million.
While that price is still $10 million above the district's state-mandated borrowing threshold of $110 million, architect Thomas Celli said officials from his firm will be working closely with project manager P.J. Dick to bring the cost down another 7
to 9 percent.Mr. Celli told the board he hoped it would be able to give approval to plans that his firm will bring to the June 1 school board meeting so that they can be sent to Harrisburg for initial approvals.
The model of the high school presented last night was significantly different from the one chosen in February by the board. At that time, the board approved what had become known as Option 2, which included a high school with 67 percent new construction and 33 percent renovation.
Option 2 included a new academic wing, sports facilities, a renovated fine arts wing and a preserved Building B, the original high school structure. However, it carried a price tag of $130.9 million.
School directors, while approving the plan, asked the architects to come back with a version with a price tag closer to $110 million.
Link
Labels: high school renovation
7 Comments:
This looks more like the new school the "Build Our School Now" folks wanted than the option the board officially voted on.
Remely did a weekend walkabout and got the cost down to about $90,000,000. Why can't the architect do any better?
Did we hire the right architect?
It looks like a "Build Our School Now" member running for election has more influence on the architect than the "R" team members currently sitting on the board.
Who is calling the shots in our school district?
The debt limit or borrowing threshold for the HS will not be $110 million by the time bonds will be issued...perhaps 3 issues over 3 years beginning in mid/late 2010. The limit over that time will likely turn out to be about $117 - $118 million.
Beyond that, do not forget that there will be approximately $9 million in the Capital Projects Fund plus another $i.6 million in a separate Asbestos Fund that can be assigned to the project.
The important funding element not to overlook and demand is that by the youth sports promoters of the *Public - Private Partnership*, as stated in their questionnaire :"- we are committed to putting our own skin in the game, in terms of our collective good will, sweat equity AND millions of private equity dollars." SHOW US THE MONEY !
So what happens if they proceed with an under $110 million project, yet cost overruns inflate the price to $130 million? It's a bit late to have a referendum after the school is built!
As of last night, May 18th.,it was admitted by the school board that there was absolutely no bases, detail or documentation for the $120 million "estimate" for the project provided by the architects/construction manager....merely, it would seem to me, an offhand SWAG (ie. scientific wild a--ed guess), and not so scientific at that. As this project progresses (?), the credibility of the hired help regresses.
So,with this in mind, the architects pronouncement that the hired help "..will be working closely..to bring the cost down another 7 to 9 percent." suggests what to anyone with more than a 5th. grade education ? The schematics presented during the May 11th. meeting raise far more unanswered questions than they answer; and, the hired help are pressing the board to approve their as yet ill-defined *concept* on June 1st. without any scheduled board meetings with public input for review and debate prior to June 1st. so that the architect can take *The Plan* to Harrisburg for the PDE rubber stamp. We have to maintain the original milestone dates or we may delay the project schedule, you know. After all, it's OK if we do the wrong thing as long as we do it precisely right on schedule. Heaven help us !
What did people really expect when we sent Celli back to the drawing board?
I'll reiterate my original prediction from about a year or so ago that come August 2009, we will be no closer to a plan, proposal or resolution of this mess. In fact, I'm willing to push that back to January 1, 2010.
The Board needs to step up and do/say something to advance this ball.
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