Stanton renovation project continues

The Stanton School Board is continuing to make progress on its renovation project.
Stanton superintendent David Gute updated board members on the latest status of the project and how things were proceeding.
“The most important part is the request for proposal process. On Monday, Jan. 11, we had four different contractors come through and look the building over and ask questions, and I’m sure we’ll be getting bids from all those back. There’s some questions that have already come back to me that I’ve referred on to KPE Architecture,” Gute said. “When we get these proposals back, and after discussing with the architect and conferring with the attorney, it’s probably best to do reviews in a small group again so it’s not a public forum when you’re maybe picking apart a proposal or saying, X company over Y company because of this or whatever. By a small group, I’m referring to bringing back our building committee.”
While the committee would get the information, Gute said the board would also be kept in the loop.
“I can share the proposals with you as well. Whether there’s a company that comes at the top and it’s the one we want to recommend, or if there’s two standout companies and it’s close, the board should still interview the companies,” advised Gute. “The attorney said it’s best to interview all four, even if the board is kind of down to two to give everyone a fair shot.”
Proposals for the project were due on Thursday, Jan. 22, to be reviewed by committee and the district.
“We had a chance to look at them and  try to make a determination from that. Again, I can share them all with the board and the board can review them at its leisure. They will have a number that says we will do this project, which you have listed for this amount. If they go over that amount, that’s on them at that point. That’s the construction manager at risk is what we’re basing this on. It’s only been legal in Iowa for a couple years, so it’s fairly new for these folks,” Gute stated.
After the district gets that information and we gets someone selected as a contractor, Gute outlined the next step.
“It’s my understanding then the construction company and the attorneys take over and they try to get all the contract details, and unfortunately, I’ve heard that can take up to two months. So probably not a lot of stuff moves forward until that contract is signed and wiped out. I hope it doesn’t take that long, but I’ve been hoping a lot of this stuff wouldn’t take as long as it has so far, and it has. Our goal is to have the CMR selected by the end of January and a contract executed by the end of February. There will be limited progress until the CMR is fully onboarded.”
While anxious to get the project going forward, Gute said there are some necessary steps the district has to take.
“Once the CMR is fully onboarded, it will be their responsibility to work directly with the contractors. I believe progress will move much faster once that is in place; however, we will still be limited by the availability of subcontractors to perform the work,” Gute explained.  
Also up in the air is the cost for the project, and how it will effect the scope of the project moving forward.
“We are hoping the bids come back at a reasonable level so that we can plan for some of the desired items of the project. One of the topics discussed by the Strategic Planning Committee was the need for new classroom furniture in the new spaces. Given current budget constraints, I can’t guarantee that new furniture will be included. However, if we are able to keep construction costs down, purchasing new classroom furniture could become a viable option.”