THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 23, 1995 TAG: 9511230558
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Pasquotank County commissioners on Wednesday approved nearly $19 million for construction in the next two years at five schools, including one that will be built from scratch.
The unanimous morning vote came shortly after the commissioners were told that, in sum, bids for the five school projects came in almost exactly as anticipated in July.
``On $18 million worth of work,'' architect Paul Boney said, ``at this time we are $28,000 over budget.''
``That's not bad,'' one commissioner quietly responded.
The projects include building a second middle school for about $10 million, and renovating and adding on to Northside, Central, J.C. Sawyer and Pasquotank elementaries.
Bids on the final three projects in a systemwide $21.6 million capital plan were entered Tuesday. Boney and school officials worked until nearly midnight to prepare figures for the presentation to the commissioners.
One project that the commissioners were not ready to sign off on Wednesday is a 9,000-square-foot school-bus garage that officials say is badly needed. Between construction and outfitting costs, the price tag came in about $753,000 - twice the budgeted cost.
Officials said that project would be rebid, and the money budgeted for the garage will instead pay for a $434,000 multipurpose room at J.C. Sawyer, which was bid for much lower than expected.
Adding the multi-purpose room put the budget overrun at about $87,000. That cost and the bus garage project will be covered by critical needs funding or a sales tax refund from the state, County Manager Randy Keaton said.
The total spending approved Wednesday was $18,750,852.
Rounding out the $21.6 million capital project are last year's construction of a high school field house and about $2.5 million inrenovations to the existing Elizabeth City Middle School.
Wednesday's meeting was a culmination of a process that began nearly a year ago when Boney Architects, based in Wilmington, presented a sweeping report of needs and recommendations to Pasquotank officials.
To meet dramatic overcrowding at most of the district's schools, the report suggested building a second middle school and moving sixth graders from the elementaries to the middle level. The report also recommended closing H.L. Trigg Elementary, which currently serves fourth through sixth graders, and moving those upper grade students to an expanded J.C. Sawyer.
After several meetings and a public hearing early this year, officials agreed to borrow the necessary money to move on those recommendations.
Now that nearly all of the planned construction has been approved, about $22.5 million in bonds called certificates of participation will be sold Dec. 13. The $1 million in borrowing above the project price will pay for administrative and interest costs, Keaton said.
Officials were optimistic about their overall project after bids for the new River Road Middle School came in well under budget last week. That surplus covered some higher-than-expected bids Tuesday.
``"We have been on a long journey,'' Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Superintendent Joe Peel told the commissioners Wednesday morning. ''We're excited about the results of all these bids.''
County Commissioners Chairman Zee Lamb said the project was the high point of his seven years on the board.
``This has been a long process, and it's taken a lot of cooperation between our two boards,'' Lamb said. ``This is something our whole community can be proud of, what we're getting ready to do.''
Added School Board Chairman Marion Harris: ``I'm sure nothing like this has ever happened in this county. We're just looking forward to getting these projects underway and getting them finished.''
School officials hope construction will begin early next year and expect all the projects to be done by the beginning of the 1997-98 school year. by CNB