Following due diligence, MPCSD intends to move forward with IW purchase agreements

MT. PLEASANT — As Mt. Pleasant Community School District continues to pursue purchasing the main campus of Iowa Wesleyan, they received a Due Diligence report from Carl A. Nelson Construction Company and Terracon revealing the good, the bad, and the ugly of the property.

During a special meeting Wednesday evening Dan Culp Vice President of Operations for Carl A. Nelson presented the findings from their due diligence of the former Iowa Wesleyan University buildings including the John Wesley Holland Student Union, Howe Hall, Chapel/Auditorium and Old Main.

According to Culp, Carl A. Nelson was asked to provide a due diligence inspection of the buildings back in June.

While this inspection included evaluations of the student union, Howe Hall, and chapel, Culp stated that the evaluation of Old Main consisted of a mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC type inspection.

“We did not do any inspection in the P. E. O Building and the Pioneer Building primarily because those Building are not slated necessarily for educational use by the school district at this time,” Culp said. “Maybe later it’s something they can evaluate, but we tried to keep our evaluation to the buildings that were currently being considered for use.”

“It is in fairly good shape,” Culp described the Holland Student Union. “It was built back in the 1950s and it’s still in very good shape as far as the bricks go.”

“The window systems throughout the Building, they’re very old and not efficient,” he said about the student system. “They are not window systems you would want in your Building today. So, if that Building does become part of another project, we recommended that those window systems be replaced with modern window systems.”

He also stated that the roof of the student center was likely at the end of it’s life, though it currently functions.

While Culp stated overall the Building was in good condition, the HVAC, boiler, chiller, and piping systems were not in great condition.

One boiler did not work at all, but the other also needed to be replaced. The chiller was not in better condition and much of the piping needed to be replaced.

According to the Carl A. Nelson report, replacing the boiler, chiller, and piping system in the student center would cost an estimated $700,00-$875,000, though they would not recommend replacing them with the same kind of system.

Replacing the controls system for the HVAC would come in at an estimated $200,000-$250,000, the roof would cost an estimated $205,000-$275,000, and the electrical main and subpanels would run approximately $35,000-$50,000.

“Howe Hall, which is one of the newest buildings on campus, if not the newest Building, is in very good shape,” Culp said.

Despite being newer, Culp stated that Howe Hall’s roof “ … is not in very great condition.”

“I mean it’s a decent roof, but it’s had a lot of patches to it,” he said. “Patches were not done very well. It’s maybe indicative of, you know, trying to put Band-Aids on a roof system to get by.”

Replacing the roof for Howe Hall also came in as a recommended cost along with the HVAC rooftop units.

For Howe Hall, replacing the estimates came in at $420,000-$560,000 for the roof, $30,000-$50,000 for the flashing detail around the perimeter of the gym wall, $375,000-$450,000 for the roof top HVAC in identical size/type, and $2,500 for insulated glass panes.

According to the report from Carl A. Nelson, the aluminum composite metal panels and brick unit masonry as the primary claddings, providin

Culp stated that they were unable to get onto the roof of the chapel but did note that it appeared to be in good condition.

However, Culp also stated that the chapel would need work for a broken truss, roof fascia, soffit, gutters, and downspouts.

According to Culp, the Chapel has open downspouts.

“When the rain comes down those downspouts, they should be tilted away from the Building just a little bit to allow the rain water to flow down the downspout, but what has happened is that those downspouts were pulled tight to the Building and so when the water comes down, the downspout it actually flows out of the downspout, and washes down the brick,” Culp explained.

Some of the basement flooring would also need attention due to moisture.

In the Chapel, Carl A. Nelson’s recommendations for probable costs consisted of repairing the broken roof truss for $75,000-$125,000, repairing the roof fascia, soffit, gutters and downspouts for $50,000-$75,000, repairing masonry for $50,000-$75,000, and repairing the concrete floor in the basement office area for $25,000-$50,000 depending on the area affected and the prescribed solution.

“It’s a beautiful Building,” Culp said. “It has great features. It would be a nice auditorium.”

“ … Overall, I would say that the chapel is a very well-built, strong Building,” Culp said. “It’s lasted this long. It’s going to last a lot longer.”

Not included in the list of recommendation costs was that the fire systems would also need brought up to code.

In addition to Carl A. Nelson, Terracon also performed an environmental evaluation of the property.

Eric Harris presented the Terracon findings at the meeting and revealed an estimated $667,500 of recommended environmental services included UST closure, soil and groundwater management plan, asbestos and regulated materials abatement, AHERA original inspection and management plan, asbestos abatement project design/bidding, oversight, and clearance, and radon initial testing.

According to Harris, in October Terracon completed a limited site investigation which consisted of collection of soil and groundwater samples and a geophysical survey.

Soil and groundwater samples showed concentrations of arsenic above the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Statewide Standards, however, the arsenic concentrations at these sample sites are with what Terracon considers naturally occurring background concentrations.

According to Harris, they are also below the previous statewide standards which were updated in 2017.

“Based on the review of the LSI (Limited site investigation), the site does not appear to be adversely affected by the release of chemicals of concern,” Terracon’s report states. “Consequently, additional assessment does not appear warranted at this time.”

However, if underground storage tanks are found, Terracon recommends removing those.

According to Harris, the Iowa DNR offers funding up to $15,000 to remove and close orphan underground storage tanks if discovered.

They also recommend that if/when soil or ground water located on site is disturbed during future excavations or construction activities that a soil and groundwater management plan be prepared. This development costs between $3,000-$4,000.

Findings of asbestos led Terracon to also recommend earmarking $550,000 for asbestos abatement due to the potential for discoverable items/hidden materials.

“There’s really nothing left for the board to do,” Superintendent John Henriksen said at the conclusion of the reports. “Unless there was something that per the due diligence really was glaring and going to cause a problem or issue with the board, we’re ready to move on to closing.”

There is no set closing date for these properties, now, but Henriksen does anticipate moving forward with the already approved purchase agreements.

According to Maher doing calculations during the meeting, the recommended fixes and price of the purchase together will come out to approximately $5.5 million, however, other members of the board suggested there may be grants and moneys available for some of these repairs which will bring that cost down overall.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com