Scott Williams, swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Renovation work at Shawano Community Middle School is moving forward on schedule and within budget under a newly assembled team of construction contractors.
Construction manager Miron Construction Co. has enlisted specialists for plumbing, electrical and other work on the nearly $10 million project approved by voters.
Getting the team together, however, was not easy.
Miron officials said they struggled to find contractors because many were busy elsewhere and because the Shawano school project is on such a tight schedule. In the case of the electrical job, no contractors submitted bids until Miron persuaded one to step forward.
Contracts have been awarded, and officials say work is progressing smoothly.
“We’ve got a very good group,” Miron project executive Randy Boden told School Board members on Monday. “It’s going well. Everybody is working together very well.”
Voters in the school district last November approved a referendum to borrow $9.25 million — and combine that with another $700,000 in district funds — to complete a long list of improvements at the middle school, 1050 S. Union St.
The 62-year-old building is getting a new main entrance, an enlarged cafeteria, new gymnasium locker rooms, an updated kitchen, a new heating system, improved band and orchestra rooms, and more. School administrators have said the upgrade likely would extend the building’s life another 25 years or more.
Crews started work in April with the goal of having the project done by August.
After awarding contracts to other firms working on the job, Miron officials reported that the total anticipated cost of the project is $9,949,927 — just under the budgeted figure of $9,950,000.
Although the current plan includes a $300,000 contingency, Boden told School Board members that the construction management firm is watching costs closely to ensure that the project does not exceed the budgeted amount presented to voters last November.
“We can’t have surprises,” he said, “because we can’t go over that final number.”
Of the various contractor jobs for which bids were requested, Miron Construction itself ended up winning one of the jobs. Miron landed the general construction contract with a bid of $2.5 million, underbidding Sustainable Construction of Green Bay, which bid $2.6 million.
Miron also is being paid $176,819 for its work as construction manager, and the budget includes another $217,361 that officials described as Miron’s operating costs associated with the project.
August Winter and Sons Inc. of Appleton won both the heating/air-conditioning and the plumbing contracts, neither of which attracted any competing proposals. August Winter will be paid $4.1 million under the heating/air-conditioning contract and $432,350 under the plumbing contract.
Shawano-based Radtke Reuter Electric LLC won the $882,350 electrical contract after the contract initially drew no bids, and officials persuaded Radtke Reuter to submit a proposal.
An elevator contract worth $55,059 was awarded to Otis Elevator and Co. in Kaukauna.
Other expenses with the project include $590,477 for design and engineering work by the Green Bay architectural firm Somerville Inc., insurance and bonding costs totalling $129,843, kitchen equipment and furnishings costing $44,796, and office furniture and lunch tables costing $40,000.
Another cost of $193,275 for “general conditions” covers such expenditures as trailers and portable toilets at the construction site.
School Board members accepted the report Monday and indicated they were pleased with how the project was progressing.
SCMS Principal Mary Kramer thanked the construction management officials for getting work started without disrupting daily school activities. Kramer said employees and students have enjoyed watching the renovation’s early stages while still being able to use the building.
“It’s clean,” she said. “It’s well taken care of.”
Once the school year ends, the entire building will be declared off-limits for the summer while crews focus on getting the project done by August.
The tight schedule discouraged some construction firms from bidding on work, Boden said, because they would have needed to increase manpower to meet the deadline. With so many other projects under way in the region, many companies could not meet those demands.
In persuading Radtke Reuter Electric to join the team, officials helped the Shawano firm identify extra manpower resources and meet all the requirements of the job.
“We wanted to make sure that he had the best opportunities to succeed,” Boden said.
Company owner Mike Reuter declined to comment.