School construction …
Southwest sections of the old Piper High School are being torn down in preparation of rebuilding the new facility. (Photo by Bettse Folsom)

Piper School Board accepts bids

   by Mary Rupert

   Construction bids from subcontractors totaling more than $10.2 million were accepted earlier this week by the Piper School Board.
   “We did very well,” said Kevin Blackwell of J.E. Dunn Construction, the general contractor. “They came in under budget.”
   A few low bidders said they needed the work, according to project officials.
   More than 25 different subcontractors were approved for the project. The most expensive item on the list is masonry by D&D, subcontractor, for a base bid of $1.69 million.
   The board accepted an alternate bid for a $57,588 wood floor for the gymnasium, but tabled a $138,611 proposal to install rubber flooring in place of vinyl tile. The wood floor will include a school logo.
   No bids were received for the asphalt paving work, for which the district had allowed $147,000. The work is overlay, the market for petroleum-based products is volatile, and there is a schedule of when the work must be performed, according to contractors.
   Superintendent Steve Adams mentioned ways the district might address the asphalt work, including working with existing contractors.
   While bids came in under what was expected, the district found an unexpected fee recently, according to Adams.
   He said the Board of Public Utilities wants to charge the district a $126,000 development fee for the project. Adams said the district would like to negotiate with the BPU on that cost.
   The elementary building budget is $15.1 million, and the high school building budget is $16.5 million.
Piper board considers when to sell bonds
   The Piper board is looking closely at the timing of when to sell bonds in the current economic chaos.
Bonds have been selling in the 6 percent range, Adams told the board. He said he was advised that it might be better for the district to wait until after the first of the year for a bond issue it is considering.
   The board decided to wait until its next meeting to discuss bonds with its financial adviser. The district is considering issuing bonds for proposed $7.5 million upgrades to its heating and air conditioning system.
   The district would pay about $612,000 a year in debt service for 20 years if the interest rate were 5.2 percent, according to information presented at the meeting. It would total about $12.2 million.
   Board members heard a presentation that a system upgrade would save on future utility and maintenance costs.
   The bulk of the bonds for the Piper construction projects have already been issued, according to district officials.

Board votes to start eminent domain process
   The school board voted to start an eminent domain process for a 30-by-60-foot piece of property next to Piper Elementary School West.
   According to Adams, the district sent the property owner a letter asking for cooperation in selling the small parcel of land, but there was no response. He said the property will be used for an easement and given to the Unified Government so that the district can gain an occupancy permit, and that nothing would change on the property. A couple of other nearby property owners sold small amounts of land, 300 square feet and 900 square feet, to the district at $1 per square foot, according to Adams.

Board member asks about emergency plans
   The Piper Public Schools have a crisis management plan in place for emergencies, the Piper School Board learned earlier this week.
   Board member Jeff Sanders, reacting to news Oct. 27 that two white supremacists had been captured in Tennessee after allegedly threatening to kill scores of black students and presidential candidate Barack Obama, asked after the meeting if Piper had a plan.
   Sanders said that about 10 years ago, “things got ugly” at the local district and some students went home early in a race-related incident.
   Ron Kaminski, a Piper board member, said there were three or four white students fighting three or four black students 10 years ago, but that rumors had gotten out of hand about it.
   A crisis management plan is in place for different situations, and it includes a lockdown, Adams told Sanders. Kaminski said schools are in better shape today than a decade ago because they have resource officers.