PEDRO – The Rock Hill Board of Education took the first steps Tuesday night on its road to new schools.

Wednesday, March 22, 2000

PEDRO – The Rock Hill Board of Education took the first steps Tuesday night on its road to new schools.

Board members approved a resolution of intent to contract with Beaver Construction of Canton for $3.5 million in excavation work, superintendent Lloyd Evans said.

The company was the lowest bidder of six companies the board considered and will be responsible for leveling sites to build the district’s new high school and consolidated elementary, Evans said.

The state-approved schools project also calls for renovation of the current high school to house middle school students.

The district received more than $31 million in state building assistance funds after school district residents approved a 4.28-mill tax levy in May 1998 for the local cost share in the project.

Although the Ohio School Facilities Commission must approve Tuesday’s decision, site work should begin Friday when Beaver Construction moves equipment to the school’s site near the board office between County Road 26 and Township Road 218, Evans said.

The deadline to complete the work is December, but the company said it expects to be done much sooner, he said.

The company is one of the biggest earth-moving companies in the state, Evans said.

For example, an available equipment list states the company has more than 100 bulldozers available, he added.

Board member Fred Wells said he was pleased that Beaver’s contract price came in under the $5 million plus estimate.

"The bid opening was held weeks ago, but the state had to review the bids to make sure," Wells said.

And just because the contract cost falls under the estimate doesn’t mean the district has extra cash for the schools project, Evans said.

The state had underestimated the amount of site work needed, then agreed after some debate to put the site work into a separate budget and add an "overage" amount. Some of that extra cost goes back to the district, Evans said.

The amount of overage for the estimate was $4.5 million. With Beaver’s contract, the overage is only $2.5 million, he said.

The state will help, but the district still must meet that overage, he added.

A contract to raise County Road 26 has not been let yet, Evans said.

And, the board needs to acquire builder’s insurance and seek an escrow agreement with a financial institution to handle contractor payments, he said.

During construction, contractors submit pay requests when certain percentages of the project are complete but the board will not pay the entire amount of the contract price until the entire project is complete and satisfactory, Evans said.

The percentage not paid to a contractor is called "retainage" and must be kept in escrow at a bank until then, he said.