Construction moving forward for AME, King
By Diana Bogan
Islander Reporter
Plans for new construction at Anna Maria Elementary and King Middle schools are still moving forward despite delays on both projects.
Larry Roemer, Manatee County School District construction services project manager, said the design documents have finally been completed for Anna Maria Elementary's future two-story building.
W.G. Mills is handling construction management and has prepared the scope of work for bids.
The deadline for bid packages was May 11, and W.G. Mills will begin reviewing the proposals to verify the low bidders have covered the required scope of work without overlapping or proposing more work than was advertised.
No work will be scheduled on campus until W.G. Mills determines the Guaranteed Maximum Price based on the bidding process and the Manatee County School Board approves the bids in June. A timeline for possible summer work and construction is still in the planning stages.
Roemer said the process has been moving along normally, although there was a slight delay after the principal architect on the project, Tom Cardinal, died in January.
Roemer said the team did lose some time re-gathering some information, but the team has regrouped and everyone did as well as they could given the circumstance.
Roemer said the next activity the community will see on campus will take place when students return in the fall. He said the community will be invited to a ground-breaking ceremony, which will also be attended by school board members and local public officials. And, he said, the school community might have input in the activities surrounding the ceremony.
Manatee County Superintendent Roger Dearing said that a design plan for King Middle School will go before the board for approval in June.
Two months ago the school board terminated its contract with Educational Design Associates for King Middle School's new construction project at Dearing's recommendation.
The board also backed Dearing's recommendation to speed up construction plans by reusing an existing middle school design that could be conformed to fit King's campus.
Dearing said three plans have been short-listed and each has been designed within the past year, meeting current education construction standards. |
