Four bidders for Jefferson project, Glass to make late June recommendation

Officials with the Cape Girardeau School District now have definitive figures on what the long-planned civic center project at Jefferson Elementary, which will house an aquatics center, may cost.

A formal bid opening Thursday afternoon from a quartet of contractors revealed prices somewhat higher than administrators had originally hoped.

Architects from St. Louis' Incite Design Studio opened documentation from four bidders: S.M. Wilson and Kiefner Brothers, both general contractors from Cape Girardeau; Brockmiller Construction of Farmington, Missouri; and Evrard Construction of Marion, Illinois.

"I really was pleasantly surprised (because) I thought the numbers would be higher (but) there is still room for improvement," said district superintendent Neil Glass, who attended the bid reveal at Central Academy.

The bid process produced a main construction number with three alternate add-ons, what Glass calls "a la carte" items the district would like to have but may not be able to afford.

Last September, Glass estimated a total price tag of $11.3 million.

In April, the leader of the nearly 4,400-pupil district said bid day might bring what he termed "sticker shock" because of skyrocketing material prices.

The following figures represent the main bid from each bidder plus alternate No. 1 (an indoor/outdoor slide addition), alternate No. 2 (climbing wall at the natatorium) and alternate No. 3 (concrete site paving instead of asphalt). Which alternates are chosen depends on how much money is available.

• Brockmiller Construction

Main: $10,708,900

Alt. No. 1: $604,000

Alt. No. 2: $15,000

Alt. No. 3: $40,000

• Kiefner Brothers

Main: $11,049,300

Alt. No. 1: $685,000

Alt. No. 2: $12,800

Alt. No. 3: $57,200

• Evrard Construction

Main: $11,299,000

Alt. No. 1: $608,234

Alt. No. 2: $15,000

Alt. No. 3: $24,250

• S.M. Wilson

Main: $11,469,000

Alt. No. 1: $670,000

Alt. No. 2: $12,000

Alt. No. 3: $153,500

Next steps

Glass, who has been with the district 12 years, the last four as superintendent, said he intends to present a recommendation to the school board at its next regular meeting June 28 on which general contractor should be selected.

"We're going to look carefully at ways we may be able to pare (the figures down)," Glass said. "We were hoping to include the slide (because) it's an attraction for kids and for the community (and) we prefer concrete pavement because asphalt breaks up over time due to freezing and thawing."

Pool

The new pool, the centerpiece of the Jefferson project, is to be a "bricks-and-mortar" building.

Originally, administrators looked at a less expensive "sprung structure" with a canvas covering similar to the "bubble" over Central Municipal Pool, but Glass told school board members the more costly natatorium will last 50 years, twice as long as the estimate for a sprung structure. The pool change added an estimated $1 million to the cost for a total price tag of $5.4 million.

The Jefferson project also includes a preschool center, four new classrooms, a new gymnasium, a commons area and kitchen improvements.

History and funding

The school district and City of Cape Girardeau previously reached tentative agreement on a two-pool plan -- the new pool at Jefferson and renovation of the existing municipal pool.

In April 2018, city voters approved a parks/stormwater tax, which included $6 million in funding for an indoor aquatic center.

In April 2019, school district voters OK'd a bond issue to raise $4 million for the Jefferson project.

Glass is on record saying he would be willing to use as much as $1.5 million of the district's capital project money to put toward the Jefferson project, if necessary.

The superintendent said over the next 11 days administrators will do value engineering.

"We'll see if we can use products that can take the place of what was actually in the RFP (request for proposal)," Glass said Thursday, adding safety will not be sacrificed for the sake of economy.