Colfax school board approves $3.7 million in bids for referendum projects
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Board of Eduction has accepted $3.7 million in bids related to the $7.2 million referendum approved by voters in the district last November.
The Board of Education held a special meeting April 18 to consider the bids recommended by Market & Johnson.
The school board approved hiring Market & Johnson as the construction manager for the referendum projects in December.
The deadline for the second bid package was April 13.
Many of the bids accepted by the Board of Education at the special meeting are related to concrete, masonry, steel, roofing, plumbing, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), electrical and site preparation.
Referendum projects include building an addition onto Colfax Elementary to replace temporary classrooms that have been in use for almost 30 years; infrastructure updates related to energy efficiency; moving the high school office to east side of the building to improve safety; improvements to the Science, Engineering, Technology and Math (STEM) classrooms; building a new bus maintenance garage; buying six propane-fueled buses; and paying off the district’s unfunded pension liability.
Bids have not yet been received for the bus maintenance garage, although $800,000 was included in the bid tabulation for the bus maintenance building, bringing the total to $4.5 million.
At the March school board meeting, representatives for Market & Johnson said the bus maintenance garage was expected to cost around $660,000.
Construction started on the new addition for Colfax Elementary the first week of April.
Although it is a tight timeline, all of the construction is expected to be completed by the time school starts next fall.
Here are some of the bids that were included in a list of nearly 30 items:
• $568,749; Market & Johnson; concrete and masonry.
• $177,014; Esser Glass; glass and glazing.
• $75,986; Kendell Doors & Hardware; doors and hardware.
• $171,226; Swanson’s Flooring; flooring.
• $1,023,765; Bartingale Mechanical; plumbing and HVAC.
• $161,300; H&R Electric; electrical.
• $118,249; site work; Chippewa Valley Excavating.
• $53,368; Architectural Products of Wausau; metal wall panels.
• $53,494; Northwest Roofing.
• $42,781; Hagen Decorations; wall finishes.
• $17,450; Monarch Paving; asphalt.