The Duneland School
Corporation is going to spend up to $110,000 more than originally thought
necessary for improvements at the Special Services Area where school buses
are kept.
The School Board
voted 5-0 in favor of a change order Monday recommended by Duneland Director
of Support Services Greg Lindy to do extra paving work.
Lindy said that
after crews started grinding the top layer of the road surface surrounding
the Services Center, whole sections were discovered to have no base layer at
all.
“What we are going
to have to do is dig that out, put some additional base underneath it before
we can pour more asphalt,” Lindy said.
Engineering
consultant John Sturgill of McMahon & Associates said he believes the
parking lot was originally asphalted over 20 years ago and had previously
been just a gravel lot. When that gravel got top coated, that layer started
to fail over the years because of an insufficient base underneath and caused
“patches,” Sturgill said.
The patches have
impeded drainage to catch basins, he said, which has exacerbated the failure
of pavement over time.
Lindy said the new
base will go only in the sections where it is needed rather than the whole
lot.
Answering Board
President Kristin Kroeger’s question of where the funding would come from,
Duneland Chief Financial Officer Lynn Kwilasz said there is enough money in
the Corporations’ Transportation budget earmarked for capital projects.
“It will just
lessen the cash balance that would roll into next year (for the budget),”
Kwilasz said.
Sturgill told the
board that the $110,000 “will fix it the right way.” He said he looked over
the entire parking lot to identify the areas in highest need and minimize
the cost. The total area of the repairs will be about 2,800 square yards,
most of it concentrated on the west side of the bus barn. Rieth-Riley
Construction is doing the work.
“It’s going to
provide us with a good base. Much better than there has ever been out
there,” Sturgill said, adding that it will even support the weight of fuel
trucks.
A busy summer
Lindy said he
estimates his department is overseeing around 45 projects this summer at all
nine school buildings and all seem to be “moving right on track pretty well”
to be ready when classes resume next month.
Paving projects
make up a large portion of the work, Lindy said. Besides the bus barn, crews
are paving near the playground area at Liberty Intermediate, with new
basketball goals and striping to be completed in the next couple of days.
The walkway on the
west side of the middle school along the fence is ground out and ready for
new pavement.
The tops of the
parking lot and driveways at CHS are ready, minus some seal coating on the
main thoroughfare which has been delayed because of rain, Lindy said.
Outdoor softball, baseball and soccer fields have been improved.
Next, Lindy
reported new doors and locks for all classrooms will be ready at Yost
Elementary, as well as improvements to the HVAC system.
The CMS natatorium
is still undergoing improvements, Lindy said, and duct work was put in
Monday. Lighting was put in the locker rooms and the pool should be finished
on time. The CMS gymnasium floor was sanded back to bare wood and striped to
look better this school year, he said. In addition, lights are being added
to the science lab areas and new carpeting was laid in the media center.
At Liberty
Intermediate, ceiling panels are being brightened in the cafeteria and
lights were added in the serving area. Lindy said crews are also putting in
a gas line to replace one that broke at the end of the last school year.
Jackson Elementary
will see its flow of hot water improved with new pumps installed. Bailly
Elementary ceilings are being brightened and lights are being installed,
Lindy said.
Building trades
donations
Approving the
$65,921 recommended by Duneland Schools Superintendent Ginger Bolinger for
the Building Trades outdoor classroom next year, the board also voted to
accept donations of several trailers.
Assistant
Superintendent of Instruction Jim Goetz, Steve Slater, Horses Landscaping
and the Building Trades organization are willing to donate trailers so the
class will have wood storage, tool storage and an office/classroom space at
its worksite.
Building trades
class instructor Tom Garzella said he is hoping to get two additional
trailers. Board member Mike Trout said he may have some trailers available.
Bolinger said the
$65,921, which will be taken from Duneland’s Capital Projects Fund, will
cover the costs of utilities for the class.
Renewed by the
board was the yearly construction labor agreement with Housing Opportunities
Inc. and the Duneland Building Trades Corporation for the building trades
class at Chesterton High School.
Life insurance
benefits
In other actions,
the board voted on Bolinger’s recommendation to “standardize” life insurance
benefits for part-time and full-time Duneland employees.
As it has been,
Bolinger said employees have been eligible to receive life insurance based
on earnings. In the amendments, employees will now be eligible to receive a
flat amount -- $15,000 for part-time employees and $50,000 for full-time
employees.
Goetz informed the
board that minor guideline changes were approved by Duneland’s Wellness
Committee recently to make sure its language is in line with the state. No
policy changes were required, he said.
Bread and milk
Also, the board
approved bids from Alpha Baking Company, which is headquartered in Chicago
but has facilities in Northwest Indiana, to supply bread for the upcoming
school year, and Clover Crest Dairy of Hobart for milk. Both companies were
chosen as the suppliers last year.