Representatives from the architectural and engineering firm Burton, Behrendt and Smith, and construction management firm T.G. Nickel & Associates provided an update on the progress of the improvements included in the $36.5 million school investment bond at the Feb. 23rd meeting of the Garden City Board of Education.

Gary Schiede from BBS provided much of the information in a brief report. Joseph Chiarelli, partner and operations manager at TG Nickel & Associates, explained that he would have more to say once the actual work progresses.

Schiede began with an update on two 2008/09 capital projects, the replacement of the roof and restroom renovation at the bus garage. He reported both these items have been completed and he is expecting closeout documents from the contractor next week. Schiede’s office will then forward those documents to the district for final payment.

All capital projects included in the 2009/10 budget have been submitted to the state education department. He estimates the jobs will go out to bid by mid-May and awards to be announced by mid-June. The work will take place over the summer.

As for work included in the school investment bond, Schiede expects the high school roof replacement project plans to be submitted to the SED for final approval next week. He plans to work with the construction manager soon to go over some final details. A bid will go out to contractors by next month and work is expected to commence this summer.

Schiede plans to submit construction documents to the SED this spring for the new 15-tier grandstand at the high school. There is currently a two- to three-month lead time at the state for review. Bids should go out by the end of summer or early fall. Construction will begin when football season ends in the late fall or early winter.

The site plan package, which will include the parking lot and bus loop reconfiguration at the middle school, will be submitted to the SED within the next two to three weeks. Work should take place this summer.

Schiede’s office is currently working on the elevations of the addition at the Middle School. He planned to meet with the ad-hoc facilities committee on Feb. 26 and discuss the plans.

Schiebe also provided an update on the district’s Energy Performance Contract. Energy performance contracting is a way for school districts to implement energy-saving procedures. His office received a detailed energy audit from ConEd Energy Solutions, and expects to hear from Johnson Controls by Feb. 26. ConEd Energy Solutions estimated the school district will save $12.7 million by implementing their energy-saving procedures, and Johnson Controls estimated the district would save $11.9 million. He anticipates asking for Board award approval at the next regular school board meeting on March 23rd.