West Central awards bids for renovation, new roof

West Central School Corporation board members have awarded two bids for the school renovation projects and work could begin as soon as spring break. 
School board members met, during a special meeting on Feb. 15, to hear a recommendation of bids for the roofing project and the securing of entrances and utilization of space project. 
Adam Weesner, an architect from Barton-Coe-Vilamaa Architects & Engineers, spoke with the board regarding the base bids of the roofing project and the secure entrance and utilization of space project. Weesner proposed the least expensive base bid for each of the projects. 
The board approved the $311,420 bid for the roofing project. The project will be paid for through the capital projects fund. 
The renovation project bids had seven alternates with a wide range of prices. The secure entrance and utilization of space project includes in the elementary school area, two classrooms will be renovated into a new office and the old office will be a community room and a computer lab. At the middle school, the second set of doors will be moved back and the entrances will be rearranged. Street said there will be three classrooms and the office will be renovated into a new office, a classroom and a new life skills area at the high school.  Along with better securing the entrances, the current weight room will be expanded into storage for the welding area as well as a changing area. Street said the existing wrestling room will become the weight room and the area behind the stage will become a wrestling room. The estimated cost of the project is about $3.8 million.  
Some of the alternate bids include removing of the air handlers in the high school, renovating the north restroom lobbies, elementary school renovation, and replacing the air handlers in high school cafeteria and high school band room. 
The board approved the base bid of $3,427,500. That base bid also includes a new fire alarm system in all the buildings.