The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Joy Swearingen for The Quill
A large heating and air-conditioning project for the Illini West High School building has turned out to be much more costly than first estimated.
At their board meeting April 15, the board discussed a project, estimated at around $220,000, that would be shared with Carthage Elementary School, owner of the building used by Illini West.
Each district has received a $50,000 construction grant, and each planned to pay half of the remaining cost of the project, or about $60,000 to $70,000 for each.
"The bids came in quite a bit higher for this HVAC system," said Superintendent Kim Schilson. "When they came through to do the bids, they found out there's a lot of structural damage. There's a lot of beams that have to be fixed."
There is asbestos to remove, and additional an HVAC unit for the shop building was not included in the original estimate. The cost is now around $335,000.
Structural steel work is needed to reinforce the shop roof as well to support the HVAC units that are heavier than the current ones.
Some board members feared there could be more costs, as the project continues. The board briefly considered, but rejected, that the two districts' maintenance staffs could do some of the repair work.
"This is not maintenance man work, this is contractor work. They don't have the tools and the equipment to safely take on this kind of work," said Schilson.
There was concern of employees getting hurt, and students getting hurt if something happens to the beams.
"If it is done, it needs to be done right, professionally," said Tracy Anders.
"The problem is we still need this work done. It is a need, not a want, for our kids," Schilson said.
She recommended sticking to the plan for each district to use its $50,000 building grant for the project and split the additional cost. That would amount to around $117,500 per district.
Shannon Pence disagreed, noting that during informational meetings about the failed Illini West building referendum, Vicki Hardy, superintendent for Carthage Elementary District, had stated the beams were completely repaired.
"My opinion is we stick to our $100,000 (including the grant) and then it's up to Carthage Elementary to figure if they want to continue on and repair their building," he said. "I am going to be hard to sway on that."
John Huston said he agreed with Pence but felt the work should be done.
"I think Shannon is in the vicinity of where we all are," Huston said.
"What we are faced with is a need for heating and air-conditioning in our buildings. We need to consider the needs of our students as well as the situations that came up during our referendum."
The item was not on the Illini West agenda for action. Huston suggested representatives and superintendents of both boards meet with architects and structural engineer to clarify the actual costs.
Before the end of the Illini West meeting, Schilson received a text from Hardy saying the Carthage Elementary Board, also meeting April 15, had approved the low bid from Peters Heating and Air Conditioning, subject to Illini West paying half the cost.
Peters had made the low bid of $283,925, plus additional repair work and items not on the original bid, raising the cost to around $335,000.