BENSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS ISD #777

Exceptional Opportunities for Every Student's Success

East Gym: Progress is being made on the East Gym remodel. As shown in the attached photo, the ceiling has been painted and baskets are being mounted. They are also painting the walls. Electrical has been roughed in. Lights are scheduled to be installed the week of March 25^th. In addition, the second attachment shows workers replacing the roof. Fortunately bids came in lower than expected and the roofing project was able to be included in the overall gym remodel. The roof was in need of replacement.

East Gym: For many years there has been a water leak into the East Gym space. To prevent any damage to the new wood floor, the architect and engineer are finalizing plans to mitigate the water issue. Most likely it will involve digging a trench at the south and east walls, adding water barrier, adding drain tile, and filling back in. The plan is to have the exterior water mitigation work completed in the next 2-3 weeks and have the floor installed in early May. The bleachers are scheduled to be installed mid-May.

Main Construction Project: After many meetings September 2018-March, 2019 the architects and engineers are working hard completing drawings and writing specs, though there are still details and meetings to be held. Bid Package #1 – BHS site work is schedule to go out in April with a May bid opening. This bid package will involve demolition of the auditorium and related site preparation work. NS bid package is scheduled for June release and the BHS bid package is scheduled for July release.

East Gym: Construction is underway on the new “East” Gym. Part of the construction project will include repaving, and most likely redesign of the BHS parking lot. For more safety and efficiency we are looking at having busses pick up and drop off on the north side of BHS and parent pick up on the south side of the school. There will be work required to make bus drop off and pick up on the north side, perhaps making that street a one-way. Preliminary discussion has been held with Chief Hodge and SRO Paula Wilson. More information will be coming as this phase progresses.

Northside Addition: The Benson City Council approved a conditional use permit at Northside for the cafeteria addition and the preschool addition to be within the set-back limits. This is a big step forward. We thank the city council and Mayor for their support.

Design and layout meetings continue:  Preschool staff met with the architect to continue design work. Two teachers are going to the new elementary school (Lakeland) in Willmar to get design ideas for classrooms. Preschool staff visited another site to get ideas. There was a meeting on the auditorium as well with the architect and engineer. Much time was put into the auditorium sound and light needs. There is a tremendous amount of detail in an auditorium. Thank you to Brock and the auditorium committee for visiting other auditoriums to get ideas and be prepared.

The school board worked with the architect and engineer to decide on mechanical systems at the NS additions and at BHS.

The school board will be holding a work session. One of the agenda items will be to get an update on the auditorium from the architect, engineer, and Brock.

The Construction Manager (CM) is analyzing the drawings to this point. He will be contacting area contractors to get real time costs on different parts of construction. The CM will be giving a budget report and timeline to the school board at the February meeting. This is the job of the CM, to make sure the project is on budget and completed on time. This will be their first report, with more to follow as we work through construction.

The plan right now is to demolish the auditorium before school begins for the 19-20 school year. If this happens, the main BHS entrance may not be available for the school year. This is not definite, however it may be a possibility.

The NS main entrance may also be disrupted as construction happens on the cafeteria. Still working on options at NS.

Please know that parking will be limited around BHS and NS during periods of construction and we may have longer walks to get to the buildings.

While nothing is visual at this point, much progress is being made and many exciting things happening. Thank you to the staff for how prepared you have been for design and layout meetings and for having open minds to new ideas. This is fun and exciting stuff happening in our schools!

While the footprints (layouts) of the main construction areas are pretty well finalized, some of the interior work is yet in design phase.

​East Gym​: Breitbach Construction gave an update on the East gym project. Initial wiring is completed and fire suppression is completed. Painters are now painting the ceiling. Basketball hoops are scheduled to be mounted next week and electricians will begin to hang lights. Water has come through the block onto the floor. This has been an ongoing problem. Breitbach is putting together a plan to mitigate the water infiltration so not to damage the wood floor. Likely, this will mean digging around the foundation, applying a water proof sealant to the exterior, putting in drain tile, and then filling with rock to drain. Grade for the original building was to be 2’. When the choir room was added, the grade went to 5’ so it is suspected that water proofing went up 2’, but not 5’. Plans for the main projects continue to move forward. Drawing and specs are being worked on. Bid package #1 – BHS site prep work is scheduled to be released in April, with bid opening in May. This includes demolishing the auditorium.

CM Agreement: The board approved the Construction Management Agreement.

ARY Agreement: The board approved the agreement with ARY (architects).

Art Room Change:  Art teacher Jenessa Grossman transitioned to a new classroom (room 412) at the beginning of second semester. The kiln has been set and wired right outside the room in the welding shop, outlets have been wired in the room, cabinets removed, projector mounted, and countertop and sinks removed from the current art room and installed into the new art location.

Old Art Room:  Band will move into the current art room during the time of the auditorium construction. The move will begin once Art is situated in the new room.

Current Auditorium:  The tentative plan is to demolish the auditorium before the 2019-2020 school year begins. We are discussing options for the ALC location. With the plan to demolish the auditorium this coming summer, we want to have everything moved out of that space before the end of the school year.

Builders Risk Insurance:  From the on-going category of “we don’t know, what we don’t know”. School districts need to carry Builders Risk Insurance both to cover on-site materials as well as “Soft Cost” Risk Insurance. Dave and I are working with the district insurance broker to secure insurance for these areas.

Bond Funds:  Bond Funds were received on December 6^th and have been invested with PFM. Following the initial draw schedule, the funds have been invested in a mix of short and long term accounts. Liquidity is important so the district has funds to pay invoices as they come in, but invest long term to maximize return. School Districts are very restricted in where funds can be invested.

Gym Remodel:  Contracts are being prepared and contractors have ordered performance/payment bonds and insurance certifications. Pending the final building permit, contractors should be ready to go on the gym remodel the week of December 17^th.

The East gym project continues to move forward. Looking at the construction timeline, all of the indoor remodel and mechanical work is scheduled to be completed during the summer of 2020. To ensure that all of the construction is completed, school calendars will be adjusted to provide 16 weeks of construction time during the summer of 2020. School calendars for 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 will allow for 16 weeks – or “Summer Slam” - as contractors refer to these summer school projects.