Pleasant Valley awards contract for safer entranceway to high school

The Pleasant Valley school board awarded a contract to Weiss Construction in the amount of $231,691 for safety improvements to the main entrance to the high school.

In addition, the board approved two alternate bids for new carpeting in the main office and guidance suite of the school. The carpeting will cost $9,268 and $9,383 respectively. The contractor will be utilizing carpet tiles in place of rolled carpet.

The project came in much lower than originally expected. The first estimates were over $700,000 for the improvements to the entranceway. Director of Buildings and Grounds Travis Serfass explained that the original cost projections were not based on an engineer’s quote and while working with the architect they were able to eliminate some of the elements of the original design.

Also some of the items were removed because they may be changed during the renovation.

The construction on the main entrance will take place during this summer break.

Several of the board members questioned the decision to replace the floors during this construction phase, since a renovation of the building is planned in the future.

Director of Operations William Gasper said the carpet tiles are commonly used in these types of applications because they can be easily replaced if damaged or stained and can be removed during the renovation and reinstalled if necessary.

In other financial news, Director Len Peeters said the finance committee held two meetings during April and was intent on trying to hold the line on taxes in the upcoming budget for next school year. Peeters said that the committee is recommending a 1.6 to 2.0 mill increase.

The proposed budget will go on display on the district website on April 29 and will be presented at the next board meeting. The final budget will be adopted in June.