Then-Sullivan County Board of Education Chairman Randall Jones points at 2021 two white lines showing the potential alignment of a 28-foot-wide access driveway from the West Ridge High School campus to Henry Harr Road.
The two white lines show the potential alignment of a 28-foot-wide access driveway from the West Ridge High School campus to Henry Harr Road. The Sullivan County Board of Education in 2021 voted 7-0 on Thursday on a resolution to spend up to $200,000 in unrestricted fund balance to have a design done of the road, and the board voted 7-0 Monday to accept a $2.5 million low bid on the project.
Then-Sullivan County Board of Education Chairman Randall Jones points at 2021 two white lines showing the potential alignment of a 28-foot-wide access driveway from the West Ridge High School campus to Henry Harr Road.
The two white lines show the potential alignment of a 28-foot-wide access driveway from the West Ridge High School campus to Henry Harr Road. The Sullivan County Board of Education in 2021 voted 7-0 on Thursday on a resolution to spend up to $200,000 in unrestricted fund balance to have a design done of the road, and the board voted 7-0 Monday to accept a $2.5 million low bid on the project.
BLOUNTVILLE — The inflationary post-COVID-19 pandemic era might have ended or lessened just in time to help lessen the cost of a secondary access driveway for West Ridge High School.
All four bids on a multi-million-dollar Sullivan County Schools capital project came in less than a revised projection of $3.7 million with competition projected in 150 days.
What that means in practical terms is that unless substantially more rock excavation than estimated materializes, the project will end up costing just more than $2.5 million, based on the low base bid from Bakers Construction Services. The Board of Education approved that bid in a 7-0 vote in a called meeting Monday afternoon, based on a recommendation from A. Morton Thomas and Associates Inc. also known as AMT.
VANOVER TO SPONSOR RESOLUTION
The County Commission, on which Commissioner Zane Vanover of the Kingsport area plans to sponsor a resolution for the project seconded by Commissioner Mark Ireson of Colonial Heights, is to vote on the school board using up to $4 million in its fund balance at Thursday’s commission meeting.
The two commissioners attended the called meeting, as did county Purchasing Agent Kristina Davis and an employee, and all said the bids were good news for the county and school system. Bids on safety equipment were to be considered Monday but were not tabulated in time so instead will be considered at the May 2 regular meeting.
Any money unspent of the $4 million appropriated for the road project “just to make sure” would go back into the fund balance, Director of Schools Chuck Carter said after the roughly five-minute called BOE meeting.
Also after the meeting, board member Michael Hubbard of the Hickory Tree area said he firmly believes construction bids will remain lower now and in the foreseeable future because most of the federal ESSER 3.0, or Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, have been used or committed to construction projects. ESSER and other COVID relief money went to localities across the nation for capital projects.
If all goes as planned, the driveway leading north of campus past the tennis courts to Henry Harr Road should be done in October of this year, setting the stage for speedier May 2025 and onward graduation night parking lot evacuation and quicker fall 2025 and onward football game traffic exits, too.
The current lone entrance and exit for the school with a designed capacity of 1,700 is at 380 Lynn Road off Exit 63 of Interstate 81, although school officials have discussed an extension of Jericho Lane going past Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee housed in the former Sam’s Wholesale Club building. Jericho eventually connects with Airport Parkway.
DETAILS OF BIDS
Bakers Construction Services made the low bid of $2,509,246.10 and a completion in 150 days. The second-lowest bid was Glass Machinery & Excavation Inc at $2,618,829.97 and 180 days, with Summers – Taylor Inc. at $2,790,042 and 150 days and Bakers Construction & Excavation at $3,046,567.61 and 180 days.
However, Baker Construction & Excavation and Summer – Taylor only bid $25 per cubic yard for any rock removal beyond the estimated 5,700 cubic yards. The estimate came from using 20 geotechnical borings. Glass bid $82.50 per cubic yard beyond 5,700 cubic yards and Bakers Construction $85. Carter said the two Baker businesses are owned by cousins.
Board member Matthew Spivey of Kingsport asked about the higher rock removal cost per cubic yard by two bidders, but Carter assured the board that the engineers recommended the low base bid of just more than $2.5 million. “We hope that we won’t go over that amount,” Carter said.
Even if more rock than expected is encountered, Carter said $1,216,654.75 in additional contingency money would be available based on the $3.7 million estimate, with another almost $300,000 available of $1.5 million total if the funding amount is rounded off to $4 million.
“Karst is everywhere,” Spivey said of the type of terrain common with limestone rock and sometimes caves. “It’s not like you can find the perfect piece of property.” Hughes said most all building sites in Northeast Tennessee have limestone like that found in the building of West Ridge, which he said is why the borings were done.
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