Plans ready but not numbers

MEEKER I The plans are complete, calculations have been made and the state considers the permit in place to be valid but the cost of repairs and how much will be the responsibility of The Neenan Company and how much will be shouldered by the Meeker School District have not been reconciled.

Repairs will not start until those amounts are settled.
“I’m very disappointed we didn’t get the numbers,” board member Jerry Oldland said, referring to the cost of repairs which were to be determined by The Neenan Company, reviewed by the district’s representative, Andy Stewart of Vanir, and then reviewed by an independent contractor.
The Neenan Company has agreed to make the needed repairs for the engineering mistake of building the school to the wrong occupancy code but the school district is responsible for the additional repair costs related to the fact the school sits on two different soil classifications, which was only determined when a third geotechnical company tested the soils. Terracon Geotechnical Services had originally classified the soils at the site all the same.
The numbers were supposed to have been ready for the Tuesday meeting but The Neenan Company did not get the costs from all the subcontractors in time to have them reconciled between the three parties.
Board member Marnell Bradfield asked when the district would get a timeline for the repairs and if they should be working dually on another plan.
Mike Daley, representative for The Neenan Company, said a timeline would come when the costs were reconciled and getting the repairs completed before the next school year starts “is still our goal.”
The board did agree to Daley’s suggestion of starting demolition of the first floor ceiling — but nothing more — until all parties have agreed on the numbers.
“We are looking at having everything for the Feb. 7 meeting,” superintendent Susan Goettel said.
The Neenan Company has been working on the inventory and protection of items still in the building and hopes to have that complete by the end of the week.
“We want to move things along as fast as we can and see some progress,” school board president Iris Franklin said.
In other news, the board approved Kim Kendall as the new high school drama coach. Kendall was recommended for the position by Goettel. Asked by board member Kurt Blunt what the hiring policy was, Goettel responded, “It was my call to open up the position (formally held by Gary Zellers).” Blunt was the only board member to vote “no” on the motion to hire Kendall.