VW elementary project contract awarded

Van Wert independent

As expected, the Van Wert City Board of Education the final construction contract for the new grades 1-5 elementary school project during a special meeting held Friday morning at the S.F. Goedde Building.

The board approved a contract with Findlay-based Charles Construction Services Inc. for the general trades portion of the project. The general trades contract is the largest portion of the project, at $11,076,000.

Previously, the board approved the other four bid packages for the project — plumbing, electrical/technology cabling, heating-air conditioning-ventilation (HVAC), and fire suppression, three of which came in significantly under engineering estimates.

The general trades portion had to be rebid, though, because the original bids, which ranged from $12.5 to more than $14 million, resulted in the project being more than 10 percent over engineering estimates. The Ohio School Facilities Commission requires that bids cannot be more than 10 percent higher than engineering estimates.

Work on the project could start soon, school officials say, with completion of the project still set for August 2012.

The elementary project approved by the OSFC also includes demolishing Franklin and Washington elementary schools, as well as renovations at Jefferson Elementary School to make it a pre-kindergarten/kindergarten facility.