By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board Monday night approved bids for three projects that will be completed during the next fiscal year.
The board approved a bid for the replacement of the O'Loughlin Elementary School roof for $155,729 from High Plains Roofing of Hays.
Fiscal year 2021 starts for the school district July 1, 2020. The O'Loughlin project has a projected completion date of this fall.
Rusty Lindsay, director of buildings and grounds, had proposed repairing a section of the roof at Wilson Elementary School. However, after almost an inch of rain on Sunday, the previous repair had produced no leaks.
Lindsay said based on the the condition of the roof on Monday, he recommended pulling the bid for the Wilson repair, which was $91,094.
HHS concrete
The school board approved a low bid from Commercial Builders to replace concrete at Hays High School. That bid is $110,318. The school district is replacing concrete in the HHS parking lot annually as funds allow.
Lindsay said it will likely take three more years spending about $100,000 per year to replace the rest of the concrete on the student side of the parking lot and four years after that to replace the concrete in the staff lot.
Work on the lot would be done this summer.
Board members Allen Park and Craig Pallister both voted against the motion to approve the bid. Both board members expressed concerns about the need for funding for other projects, specifically a new HVAC system for Roosevelt Elementary School.
"It would be robbing Peter to pay Paul," Lindsay said.
He said the concrete work needs to be done, and there is not enough money in the capital outlay fund to pay for the Roosevelt HVAC repair. It will have to be paid for through other means, possibly a lease agreement.
Board Member Tammy Wellbrock said the disrepair in the HHS parking lot could be a safety issue.
Transportation center
The board also approved a bid to replace the roof of the transportation center. The low bid was from Quinter Manufacturing & Construction at $136,000.
This project will also come out of the FY21 budget and begin after July 1.
Lindsay said he had expected the cost of the transportation center roof to be double the bid because the roof contains asbestos.
However, the asbestos panels should be able to be pulled off complete, which means a remediation team will not be required.
Lindsay said the district has put off this roof repair multiple years, but it can no longer be pushed back.
He said the damage has become a safety issue. A staff member slipped on water in the building becuase of a roof leak.