Firm chosen to build Scott City safe room

A Perryville, Mo., construction firm was the low bidder on a performing arts theater/Federal Emergency Management Agency safe room for the Scott City school district, the school board learned Wednesday night.

Zoellner Construction was the low bidder at $2,069,000. But because it was higher than expected, the board approved going into negotiations with the company to see where costs can be trimmed.

Project architect Brett Dille of Dille & Traxel LLC in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Mark Strickland of Strickland Engineering in Jackson were at the meeting to go over the eight bids received.

Dille said it's not uncommon to negotiate with the low bidder on a project.

The theater and safe room were set to be financed by a $1.5 million of 75 percent federal funds, or $1.125 million; and 25 percent, or $375,000, in matching funds from the school district.

This doesn't include a sound system or curtains, or anything, Superintendent Diann Ulmer has said. So to help pay for the items, the district set aside $550,000 the past three years.

"The bids were slightly higher than what we were hoping for, so we're going to be working with the general contractor to see if there are areas where we can cut back," Ulmer said. "The grant was written in 2010 based upon building costs back in 2010, and there's obviously been some change in building costs."

It wasn't until June 24 that FEMA gave the district permission to move forward with the bid process.

A meeting now will have to be arranged among the construction company, Dille, Strickland and Brian Orr, an engineer with Toth and Associates Inc. of Springfield, Mo., who wrote the grant and is project manager. Ulmer wasn't sure when this will take place since.

The 8,000-square-foot facility will be built on the west side of the Scott City school building. It will have a generator for emergencies, and the prefabricated 1-foot-thick, steel-reinforced walls will withstand winds of an EF-5 tornado, or up to 250 mph.

The building will have room for about 1,275 people, with each person having about five square feet of space.

In other business, the board:

* Received updated reports from Ulmer and school principals. Progress reports have gone = to parents in paper or electronic form.

* Learned that two visually impaired students will head Saturday to space camp in Huntsville, Ala.

* Reviewed incentives for students who reached proficient or advanced levels on the Missouri Assessment Program tests and end-of-course exams.

* Heard building and district goals.

* Approved a quarterly revision of the budget.

* Approved the 2013-14 budget document.

* Continued membership in the Missouri United School Insurance Council for liability and workers' compensation coverage.

rcampbell@semissourian.com 388-3639

Pertinent address: 3000 Main, Scott City