Base and alternate bids were approved for the 1962 high school wing HVAC project by the Washington Community School Board Monday.

Carl A. Nelson Project Manager Jordan Hutcheson shares how the bid opening went on December 16th, “We actually had fantastic participation, we really did. We had a couple of bidders for the general trades package and fire sprinkler package. Four bidders for HVAC, three for electrical, and five for asbestos abatement. And when you average that out that’s about three per package and it’s tough to complain with that kind of participation.”

With four alternate bids the lowest bids came in with construction management and 10% contingency costs for a total of $3,744,405. Hutcheson spoke well of this number as the board plans to spend $3.1 million in COVID-19 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief, or ESSER, fund dollars. The board is looking at using PPEL or SAVE fund dollars for the remaining cost.

The project was broken into five bid packages for work that includes HVAC, lighting, new ceilings, new structured cabling, an expansion of the fire sprinkler system, and asbestos abatement. The awarded low bidders were Wood Construction, Continental Fire Sprinkler, Winger Companies, and Advanced Environmental. The project is scheduled to begin May 25th, 2022, though asbestos work may start a few weeks sooner if they can shift some of the classes to the north part of the building during that time.