Construction on multi-purpose athletic facility to begin soon

GENTRY - Plans are to move existing underground power lines over spring break, March 18-22, so that work on the Gentry High School multi-purpose athletic facility can begin shortly thereafter.

In an email sent to Empire District Electric on March 6, Gentry Public Schools superintendent Randy Barrett requested that work to move utilities be scheduled during spring break, suggesting that Empire District could shut off the school's primary power for a couple ofdays with no distractions, adding that the school's “cafeteria freezers should hold that long.”

The goal, according to Barrett, is to have the complex complete close to the start up of fall classes in August. If the school utilities cannot be moved until April or May, the Flintcoconstruction schedule “goes out the window,” Barrett wrote.

Empire District met onsite with Barrett, athletic director Brian Little and Flintco, the construction manager for the project, last week and plans are in place to do the work next week, over spring break.

At its Feb. 20 meeting, the Gentry School Board approved a few additional cost-saving measures and voted to move forward with construction on the facility.

Total cost for the building was estimated to be approximately $3.7 million, including the architect's fee. Original projections were just under $3 million, and voters approved a bond restructuring measure last November to make $3 million available for the project.

At the recommendation of the project architect and Flintco, the board requested a more competitive rate for the fire alarm and intercom system and approved the use of aluminum feeders rather than copper to help reduce construction costs without endangering the integrity of the building or taking away from its safety.

Barrett supplied the board with an approval letter for the replacement of the high school roof during the summer months, using federal money provided through the Academic Facilities Partnership Program. The estimated project cost for the new roof is $600,000.

News, Pages 5 on 03/13/2013