A building project to construct a new gymnasium at the Houston School District campus will fall within an estimated planned budget of about $6.5 million.
The news came last Tuesday during a meeting of the Houston board of education where 34 bids from various vendors were reviewed. At the close, the project is within the board’s budget, but there won’t be much room for surprises that could cause the cost to go up.
Voters approved a $6 million bond issue last year for the work. With the bids authorized last week about $4.16 million goes to firms with a direct presence in Texas County. The contingency is around $30,000.
The school’s construction manager, Gentry Construction Co., a Houston firm, presented the results of bidding and recommendations for approval. Those items ranged from everything from bleachers to steel.
The board of education considered these bids separately from the package presented by the construction manager:
•Roofing: West Plains Roofing, $196,000; Watkins Roofing, $218,000; Weathercraft Inc., $309,992; and Blackjack Roofing, $341,600. (7-0 board vote for West Plains Roofing)
•Plumbing: Jones Sortman Inc. of West Plains, $189,500; and Precision Heating and Cooling, $286,500. (6-0-1 vote for Jones Sortman with Jo Holland abstaining)
•HVAC: Multi-Craft Contractors, $604,650; Wood Mechanical, Inc. of Cabool, $613,000; Reese Heating and Cooling, $625,000; and Precision Heating and Cooling, $663,200. (6-0-1 for Wood Mechanical with Jo Holland abstaining. In both cases, Holland’s husband might be involved with working the subcontractors)
The board is expected to review later rooftop units specifications that caused an increase in the expected cost.
•Electric: McNew Electric Inc, $247,532; Meyer Electric Co. Inc, of Jefferson City, $314,500; Jones Sortman Inc., $322,000; K & R Electric Co., $413,945; and B & D Mechanical, $446,500. (7-0 vote for Meyer Electric Co. Inc.). Board discussions centered on locally based McNew of Licking and Meyer Electric Co. of Jefferson City, which employs some local workers. Ultimately, the board opted to go with Meyer’s bid.
•Earthwork: Jared Smith Excavating of Houston, $132,980; Don Maggi Inc., $169,312; and Whorton Earth Moving, $227,265. (5-2 vote for Jared Smith Excavating )
(Video can be found at facebook.com/houstonherald. )
Following the bid approvals last week, the board is set to discuss Tuesday night an easement with the City of Houston related to the project and a legal matter.