South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Lindbergh’s Prop 4 bids come in $241,000 under budget

Bids recently approved by the Lindbergh Board of Education for Proposition 4 construction projects place the bond issue improvements roughly $241,000 under budget.

The total for all base bids, including management and design fees, is $14,061,672. Board of Education members last week also voted to accept five alternate bids totaling $126,631, bringing the total Proposition 4 construction cost to $14,188,303.

That cost is $241,697 less than the Proposition 4 budget of $14,430,000. The budget includes the $14.1 million in revenue generated by the voter-approved Proposition 4 bond issue, plus $330,000 in investment earnings on the proceeds of the bond issue.

During the special meeting Feb. 24, board members agreed to return the remaining $241,697 to the construction contingency fund, increasing the contingency fund to more than $1.3 million.

District voters last year approved Proposition 4, a $14.1 million bond issue designed to address safety issues at all of the district’s schools. Approval of the measure increased the district’s tax rate by 10 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

A four-sevenths majority — 57.14 percent — was required for approval of the measure, which received 4,908 “yes” votes — 57.67 percent — and 3,603 “no” votes — 42.33 percent. Of the district’s 34,461 registered voters, 8,575 — 24.88 — cast ballots in the April 8 election.

Proposition 4 will result in improvements at all Lindbergh schools, including increased parking and improved traffic flow; removal of arsenic-treated wood playground equipment at the elementary schools; renovated locker rooms, a new pool and multipurpose room at the high school; and an expanded library and enclosed walkway connecting the buildings at Truman Elementary.

Some projects already have been completed on the high school campus, such as the welcome/security center and some of the parking lot renovations.

“The projects addressed by Proposition 4 will not only improve the educational opportunities for Lindbergh students, but will improve the Lindbergh community in general,” said Pat Lanane, assistant superintendent and chief financial officer.

Completing the work under budget is important to the Board of Education and administration.

“The district always has three goals for every construction project: under budget, top quality and on time,” Superintendent Jim Sandfort said. “I am pleased to announce that the bids being recommended will put the district on track for accomplishing all three goals. The total for all base bids and all alternate bids is within the Prop 4 budget.”

The largest contracts awarded last week went to Reinhold, $1,064,347 for electrical work; McLain, $979,677 for metal building work, and Westport, $787,132 for pool equipment work.

“Getting a large number of companies involved, getting a large number of bids, and bidding early all helped the bidding process,” Lanane said.

Construction work will begin this month and will be completed in summer 2005.

McCarthy Construction is the construction manager for the Proposition 4 projects.

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