By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays USD 489 school board discussed renovations to the former Wilson school at its work session Monday night.
The district plans to move its administrative offices into the former school, which closed at the end of the last school year.
The district hopes to sell the Rockwell property at 323 W. 12th St.
The Kansas Legislature has approved the sale. The school district will accept sealed bids, due by Oct. 28.
The district will release the request for bids on its Beacon platform.
The board is scheduled to review the bids on Nov. 2.
The school district hopes to move its offices into Wilson next fall.
However, the building’s $3 million in renovations will be phased over several years.
The school board members toured the vacated building Monday.
The former gym will be renovated into a training room/board room. Nick Howard, director of building and grounds, said the district would likely lower the gym ceiling to about 10 feet to fit the new use.
Ron Wilson, USD 489 superintendent, said the district spoke with a vendor that estimates renovations for all three training rooms could cost $150,000 to $200,000.
He said many of the ceiling tiles throughout the school are still in good shape. Some carpet tiles will need replacement.
Wilson said he is unsure exactly what will need to be done to the floors. The district found asbestos masking under tiles during renovations at other schools.
Wilson showed the board members several other rooms that could be used as training rooms, including the former art and band rooms.
He said the district constantly uses spaces in the current administration building for professional development.
Other classrooms would be renovated into offices.
The new administration center will house between 30 and 40 people.
Wilson said some classrooms would be divided into several smaller offices with added interior walls. He said the offices would connect through a shared foyer to the hallway, so the district would not need to add extra doors to the main hallway.
The district has a warehouse on the Rockwell property and will need a new space when that property is sold.
In the short term, the district is including in its bid request a one-year lease of the current Rockwell warehouse with an option for a six-month extension.
The district plans to have a 7,500-square-foot building constructed on the asphalt area of what was Wilson’s playground. The building would primarily be used for storage, including parking vehicles.
The district is planning heating but no cooling in the space. The buildings and grounds staff offices likely will be in the old school library.
The district would remove the asphalt and install a concrete pad.
Board members Derek Yarmer and Ken Brooks both said they thought the building would cost much more than the amount budgeted.
Wilson said the renovation numbers are estimates. He said the district would not know a final cost until it put the project out for bids.
Ruth Ruder said there has been some discussion by the Hays Recreation Commission about closing Wilson Pool. She said the rec has struggled to staff the pool and it leaks.
She said the district should consider buying the property if it is placed for sale.
The district has found asbestos in masking under tile in some of the other schools. However, Wilson said he did not know if there was asbestos in Wilson.
“They come in, and they do some testing here and there, and then once you start digging into construction and figuring more things out, then they find the things that they didn't know were there,” Chris Hipp, assistant superintendent for business, said.
Wilson said the IP phone system from Rockwell will be brought to the new administration building.
“Once again, we have the great thing about this place. We have a lot. It gives us a lot of functionality, and spaces are also on one floor, which is great. I think it's going to be a great place for us,” Wilson said.
Yarmer said, “I think it sounds great that we can get all done on budget. I just question whether we can.”
He added, “I was looking back through the five-year capital outlay plans, and basically the remodel had been for $1.5 million, the warehouse for $500,000 for three years, until July of this year. Then we bumped up the remodel to $3.1 million, and the warehouse to $1.5 million. What did we find out that made us change?”
Wilson said, “It's because, once again, they're not numbers until they come to you. They're all estimates. They're always estimates. What we feel is our best guess.”
Yarmer also asked about roof leaks at Hays High School and O’Loughlin Elementary School.
Wilson said the roofs are under warranty, and the roofer will fix them.