Morgan Co. board awards contract for construction of planned $32 million high school; superintendent pleased low bid came in below estimate, still covers all desired features
Licking Valley Courier, West Liberty, June 15, 2017
School board awards construction bid for new high school building
Rising Sun Const., low bidder, of Lexington, Pikeville to build school
by Miranda Cantrell
The Morgan County Board of Education during a special June 6 meeting awarded the bid for the construction of the new Morgan County High School.
Board members received four bids for the project:
• Monarch Construction of Cincinnati, Ohio – Base bid was $24,648,000 with the board accepting alternates 2-9 for total bid of $25,821,000.
• Rising Sun Construction of Lexington, Ky. and Pikeville, Ky. – Base bid of $22,860,000 with the board accepting alternates 2-9 for total bid of $23,872,112.
• Frederick & May Construction of West Liberty, Ky. – Base bid of $23,700,000 with the board accepting alternates 2-9 for total bid of $25,178,400.
• Standafer Builders – Base bid of $23,989,000 with the board accepting alternates 2-9 for total bid of $25,116,815.
Architects with the Murphy Group of Lexington, Ky., reviewed the bids and recommended that the board accept the low bid from Rising Sun Construction for the base amount of $22,860,000 plus alternates 2-9 totaling $1,012,112 for total construction cost of $23,872,112.
Board members unanimously voted to award the bid to Rising Sun Construction, and approved a revised BG-1 in the amount of $32,306,408 for submission to the Kentucky Department of Education.
The outstanding amount of the BG-1 following the awarding of the construction bid – which was much lower than board members expected – will be used to furnish the building and to install technological features.
Board Chairman Marshall Jenkins said that State Sen. Ray Jones and former State Rep. John Will Stacy who began the process of securing funding for the school during the 2013-2014 school year.
“We walked the legislators through why Morgan County students needed a new high school,” Jenkins said. “Each of them helped us clear major hurdles during the process. Then, during the 2016 budget session, Sen. Jones helped Morgan County secure the $25 million needed to make this project happen.”
The first phase of the project – expected to begin on July 6 – will entail the establishment of a bus route around the proposed construction site and the removal of the former bus garage facility, two double-wide trailers, an old barn and an old greenhouse.
Following the removal of the above-mentioned structures, construction of the new high school will begin, with completion projected for December 2018.
The second and third phases will encompass a complete renovation of Veterans Memorial Gymnasium and the demolition of the current high school.
Chairman Jenkins noted that the board collaborated with various groups during the planning process.
“We developed two completely different sets of high school drawings before the final plan emerged,” Jenkins said. “The plan we decided on includes elements from each of the schools we visited. The high school students, staff and community committee members played a key role in the final design. We appreciate all their work and input.”
Superintendent of Schools Deatrah Barnett said that school construction will encompass all of the features board members had hoped to include.
“We are thrilled that with the bids coming in lower than anticipated, we were able to get everything we wanted in the new school,” Barnett said. “It will be a school that everyone can be proud of and every student in our district will benefit from for many years to come.