Board OKs cost-cutting moves for Smith River gym

An artist’s sketch of what the Smith River gymnasium will look like. Submitted

It will now go back to the Department of the State Architect for approval of structural changes — this is expected to take a month or two —  and then it will be re-bid to contractors.

Bids from the first go-around came in about $900,000 over the district’s $2.3 million estimated cost for construction. The entire project was projected to cost about $2.8 million.

The new gym will replace an antiquated one that is too small for the K-8 school.

The School Board on Thursday night approved about $860,000 in cost-saving changes. It also will kick in about $130,000 of the district’s money (that had been promised for the gym years ago) and request supplemental funding from the California Endowment through the Building Healthy Communities initiative. The Wildcat Pride Building Fund Committee is also expected to provide a little more than $200,000 raised by community members.

Board members opted to keep the original design of the gym, but shrink it by about 4 feet on each side, which means slightly more narrow bleachers and off-court space.

The district also anticipates saving money by moving the construction start to next spring with an estimated completion by the  following winter.

Another big savings is holding off on laying asphalt for the new parking lot around the gym (except for Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible parking) and using compacted concrete and the existing basketball courts instead.

Less expensive materials will also be used to save money, including for the wood floor in the gym and tiling in the bathrooms.

About $140,000 in bond projects originally intended for Margaret Keating Elementary School and McCarthy Alternative Education Center will be used for the gym. Those projects will then be delayed until another series of bonds is sold. That amount of money will be reduced from Smith River School’s allocation for other modernization projects.

Board members Don McArthur and Frances Costello said they wanted to preserve the integrity of the gym’s original design. This would also save some additional work for the Department of the State Architect, said the project’s architect, Jeff Mitchell.

There was talk of changing the look of the exterior, but the board decided that additional district and foundation funding could make up the difference.

Sally Sarina, representing  the fundraising committee, said that its members wanted to keep wood flooring, backboards, two sets of bleachers and a scoreboard. With those items in place, the committee would be willing to contribute the money it raised.

“It will be there,” she said.