Crawfordsville Community School Corporation is one step closer to constructing a new administration building.
On Thursday, school trustees conducted a special board meeting and voted 4-0 to accept a $3.8 million bid from Kettlehut Construction, a general contractor and construction management company from Lafayette. Board member Monte Thompson was unable to attend the meeting.
The new one-story, brick building will be located on the south side of the athletic parking lot at Crawfordsville High School. The new 6,200 square foot building will provide office space for the superintendent, assistant superintendent, curriculum director, food service director, accounting and payroll, the corporation treasurer and receptionist. Additionally, the building includes a lobby, board room, large conference room and storage space.
Superintendent Dr. Rex Ryker said he expects the project to break ground in late March. The construction phase is expected to take 12 months.
Ryker shared that Kettlehut’s bid, which included four alternatives for the board's consideration, “puts us within our project dollars.”
The board elected to accept Kettlehut’s base bid of $3,836,815, and alternate #4, which was a $27,000 deduction related to insulation materials, making the final project total $3,802,452.
Board president Steve McLaughlin questioned whether the metal roofing materials outlined in alternate #1 would be a better option to the planned shingles.
Ryker said at this time the funds were not available to install a metal roof. He said many of the items listed in the alternate options, like a metal roof and an upgraded board room, would have to wait.
“There’s really no wiggle room at this time,” he said.
However, if the construction project goes smoothly, and contingency funds are not used, the board can revisit some of the items listed in the alternate options.
The new building will replace the corporation’s inadequate and outdated 3,500 square foot office space at 1000 Fairview Ave.
The board and corporation administrators announced plans to pursue a new building in August 2022. The corporation previously partnered with Kettlehut for the high school renovation project.
