District 5 gets rolling on construction process

On Nov. 2, voters approved school construction bonds in Kalispell, and did so by solid margins.

Now the school is ready to start work on nailing down design specifics and selling those bonds.

Voters gave a 60 percent to 40 percent thumbs-up for the $10.9 million expansion and renovation at the junior high. For $39.8 million to build a second high school and renovate Flathead High, the approval was 55 percent to 45 percent.

Now, school officials and architects are on a fast track at least through Christmas break.

That's when Superintendent Darlene Schottle, a pair of architectural firms - CTA Architects and Engineers for the high school and Architects Northwest for the junior high - and District Facilities Director Chuck Cassidy hope to have the bulk of staff and community input well in hand.

Input on curriculum and programs, to be gathered through a series of meetings over the next four weeks, will help guide building design.

"The next 60 days are very important to the process," Cassidy told trustees at a special meeting Tuesday night.

Information that comes from community input over these meetings will set in place the facts on which architects will design the buildings.

In order to meet the tentative groundbreaking targets of October 2005 for the junior high, those meetings will begin right away.

On Monday, Schottle and architects will meet at 3:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium with staff members for an overview, then break into departmental meetings with architects. Trustees will meet with the architects that evening to lay out what they just heard.

Throughout the next day, architects will be available at the school to talk further with any interested staff. School employees also will turn in staff surveys by the end of the day, giving feedback on everything from teaching space to school parking to public use of the buildings.

With a smaller construction project, the junior high will follow a bit more relaxed schedule over the coming months. Still, staff input will be initiated Friday.

Dec. 11 also will be a crucial day in this early process.

On that Saturday, Schottle has scheduled a day for staff and community discussions to take a pulse on what curriculum will be needed in the two schools. School officials and architects would present information and seek out opinions and experience from those involved.

She had planned to dedicate time to both the high school and junior high projects in those sessions.

But trustee concerns about time limitations may call for a separate evening meeting - possibly during the week before that Saturday - to discuss only the junior high project. That route would leave all of Dec. 11 for high school discussions.

As a result, details for that day's agenda still are being hammered out, and will be announced in the near future.

According to Schottle's early timeline, the deadline is Dec. 17 for input on significant potential curriculum changes that will impact building design.

Here is a summary of CTA Architects' preliminary timeline for the rest of the high school project, beginning in January:

. January 2005 - Schematic Design: building plans, selections, elevations; structural, mechanical and electrical systems; cost estimate; community meetings; building committee meetings.

. February-March 2005 - Design Development: modify the above according to input; hold community and building committee meetings.

. April-July 2005 - Construction Documents: complete the above according to input; hold community and building committee meetings.

. August-September 2005 - Bid/Negotiation: release construction documents; respond to contractor questions; issue addenda; tabulate bid results.

. October 2005-July 2007 - Construction Administration: shop drawing review; respond to RFI's, issue proposal requests; weekly site visits; monthly construction meetings; process monthly pay applications.

. July-August 2007 - Project Closeout: commissioning; punch lists; substantial completion; move-in.

Here is a preliminary timeline from Architects Northwest for the junior high project:

. January-February 2005 - Schematic design

. March-May 2005 - Design development

. June-November 2005 - Construction documents

. December 2005 - Bidding

. January 2006-May or June 2007 - Construction

Last week, District Clerk Todd Watkins told trustees that the bonds should sell near the 4.25 or 4.5 percent rate, an average over the 20-year life of the bonds.

But, since the school must start paying interest as soon as it sells the bonds, the elementary and high school districts won't take that step until they are closer to a final design.

"Bond sales depend on how fast things get going with the architects," District Clerk Todd Watkins said. "We have to have a reason to sell."

With currently low bond rates, any indication that rates are heading higher would be an impetus to sell.

But he said D.A. Davidson, the school's financial counsel, doesn't see that on the horizon just yet.

In the meantime, Watkins is getting the ball rolling with the requisite paperwork so bond sales can take place in the two separate districts when the time is right - probably next spring.

Schottle told trustees that the two architectural firms have pledged to coordinate their work schedules to streamline the overall process.

A core team of eight or 12 people will meet weekly to oversee the projects.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com