W-MU takes first step toward building updates

BY KARYN SPORY

Mt. Pleasant News

WINFIELD ? The Winfield-Mt. Union School Board has been discussing building improvements and construction projects for the school for several years now. Last night, the board took its first step toward making some of those discussions a reality.

On Wednesday night, during the board?s regularly scheduled meeting, a motion was approved to contract with Estes Construction/ICAT (Iowa Construction Advocate Team) for their integrated project delivery.

Pete Perez, with Estes Construction, met with the school board last month to deliver the company?s needs assessment of the school. The book he distributed included projects such as making all entrances ADA compliant, updating the science lab and even building a new addition for four new kindergarten and pre-kindergarten classrooms. The board met again in June to further discuss the assessment.

Perez told the board that beyond compiling the needs assessment, Estes Construction could be hired to help the district through the process of planning, building and implementation through its integrated project delivery system, which brings the district, designer and construction team together from the start. Perez said this has been proven to optimize results, reduce waste and save money.

Superintendent Jeff Maeder said he and board president Klay Edwards met with Perez again to discuss the delivery system in-depth. ?Some of the things that I took away from the meeting is that we could save 10 to 30 percent of the overall costs because they (Estes) are on top of the contractors,? he said.

Maeder said there would be an additional fee the district would have to pay Estes, and that depended on the scope of the project. For a project that cost $1 million or less, Estes? fee would be six percent of the total cost. ?This would be for the company?s construction management,? he explained.

For a project ranging from $2.5-$5 million, Estes? fee would be five percent and four percent for a project ranging between $7.5-$10 million.

?This is a good chunk of money, but well worth the investment,? said Maeder. Maeder added that with Estes the burden of keeping an eye of the project and making sure things were on time and running smoothly would fall to Estes rather than himself. ?I will still be involved, but I will have more time to focus on the educational side rather than construction.?

Edwards added he felt this was the best, and most fiscally responsible way to go. The board approved using Estes Construction?s integrated project delivery system unanimously.

During the meeting, the board heard from Jon Wolf, of Johnson Controls, regarding a new HVAC system. A new HVAC system is on the top of the district?s list when it comes to building upgrades.

Wolf told the board about the Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems (VRF), which achieves ?extremely high efficiencies by modulating the flow of refrigerant according to the exact demands of individual areas,? according to the company?s website.

Wolf said this model would work best for the school, as each classroom could be its own zone.

The system, Wolf explained, works in a zonal approach, so each room could be adjusted to achieve the set temperature without having one room that?s always too hot or too cold.

Wolf added this system is usually good for 15-20 years.

The board said they would keep the system in mind when they begin looking at building improvements.

More information from Wednesday night?s meeting will be available in Friday?s edition of The News.