We opened bids for the high school project on January 14. With all of our
alternates included, the firm of Jones and Roberts was the apparent low bidder with a bid of $17,315,400.
There were six bids considered and five of them were within 1.8% of one
another. This is an indication that this was a very competitive process and
that the drawings by IBI Group were clear. Both of these are good for the
District.
According to their website,
Jones and Roberts
were the contractors on the renovation of Toledo Middle and Elementary schools
in 1996.
On Jan. 16, the
Board voted to award the bid to Jones and Roberts. We signed the contract with
them at the end of the Groundbreaking Ceremony on Jan. 31.
The design team's estimate for the project was approximately $19 million. The $17.3 million bid
gives us the prospect of being able to go back to the original designs from our
community and add back some of the features that were eliminated in the bid
plans. This collaborative process will provide additional value to the final
facility.
Ceremonial
groundbreaking took place on Friday, January 31 at 4 p.m. in the parking lot of
THS. The theme for this event was “Honoring the Past, Embracing the Present,
Building for the Future”. Speakers included Cowlitz Indian Tribe Councilwoman
Patty Kinswa-Gaiser, First Principal of the current THS, Denny Clark, Board
President, Jerad Buswell, ASB President Greenlee Clark, Wyatt Nef, Class of
2022 (first graduating class from the new building), Ross Parker, Architect and
Pastor Joe Martin of the Toledo First Baptist Church.
A camera has been installed at the stadium to
livestream progress on the construction site. Patrons will be able to access real
time images of the construction as it is happening.
We’ll be meeting
with Jones and Roberts on Feb 13 for the preconstruction meeting. This is where
we’ll get into the details of construction and phasing. You should see evidence
of construction taking place by the end of February. First steps will be
construction fencing and a new, temporary main entrance to the south of the
current entrance (away from the gym).
This is an exciting
step forward in creating a new Toledo High School. Thanks to the generosity of
our community and the participation of Washington State, Toledo will get a new
school that is designed to last another 50 years.
