New WHS

gets good report
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

The Watauga County Board of Education and the Board of Commissioners received a positive progress report and moved forward on the second of three major bids for the new high school.

The boards received a guaranteed maximum price for the second stage of construction, which also includes contingencies and contractor management, for the foundation and steel for the project in the Perkinsville area of Boone.

The $4.53 million bid for structural steel and concrete foundation for the new high school was approved for Barnhill/Vannoy, the construction team overseeing work on the high school.

On Sept. 24, the school board and county commissioners considered bids for the concrete foundation and steel package for the project, including reinforcing steel in footings, slabs and walls for the main building.

The final price came in close to that estimate, and was presented by Marty Moser, director of preconstruction for Barnhill Contracting.

Commission chairman Jim Deal said it was close to what the county had figured for the price.

The commissioners also had to extend an additional $81,000 to the amount the county is loaning itself from its fund balance until it receives certificates of participation to cover the project cost.

Mike Kesterson, project manager with Barnhill/Vannoy, gave an update on construction, and said the building pad is already completed and on grade nearly a month ahead of schedule.

Grading for the athletic fields is either complete or under way, and drainage systems are currently being installed.

Kesterson said, to date, there were only three yards of rock discovered, which he called “outstanding,” and the project was months ahead of schedule.

The first major bid was for site preparation, contracted at a GMP of $7.3 million, was for site preparation, including grading, pipe installation and road construction.

The third GMP bid will be put out in March 2008, since Barnhill/Vannoy expects more than 40 bid packages for all the different areas of construction for the job.

That bid, combined with the first two, will represent the total project cost for the high school.

The boards will have their next joint meeting on Jan. 22. The school is expected to be open in August 2010.

Bryce Holder delivered a clean opinion for the county’s 2006-2007 financial audit, which he said was a good report. “The operation of the county is excellent,” Holder said, praising the county administration and finance department. “We found absolutely nothing in there that wasn’t authorized.”

The county was also upgraded on its bond rating from A-plus to AA, which will improve the county’s ability to borrow money and to borrow it at a lower interest rate.

Holder said the new rating should have a significant impact on the county’s ability to get a lower rate for loans that will build the new high school.

The commissioners adopted a resolution requesting safety improvements for the intersection of N.C. 105 and Poplar Grove Road west of Boone.

The resolution seeks immediate attention, including a traffic study to determine what safety features are warranted. The board asked that improvements which could include turning lanes and signs be considered, as well as a signal light, and that speed limits be reduced to 35 mph.

The board also requested consideration of flashing caution lights from each approach to the signal on N.C. 105.

The commissioners had identified Poplar Grove Road as an “unofficial bypass” to downtown Boone. “All we can do is ask DOT (N.C. Department of Transportation) to look at it,” Deal said. “We don’t have the right to make the decision. They’ll make the decision.”

The commissioners were also concerned about the speed limit along the section of N.C. 105 to the 105 bypass, which is a mix of 45 and 35 mph.

The president of the board of directors for the Cove Creek Farm gave a presentation on the work of the leadership and recovery endeavor.

Janet Montgomery, who is also an art teacher at Appalachian State University, said she got involved with the farm as a way to find practical art applications for her students.

She said the farm was a nonprofit organization for teens serving young men between 15 and 22 with emotional, psychological or mental problems and who have drug or alcohol problems. She said half of the residents were from Watauga County.

The clients stay at the farm, raise animals, take classes and participate in a leadership school. The farm has recently launched an entrepreneurial program in a mobile automotive, lubrication business and landscaping.

Montgomery said the program had a good reputation for healing and encourages participants “to think about somebody besides themselves.”

Clients volunteer in community services like Meals on Wheels, the Ruritan Fish Fry and Blood Sweat and Gears. “We believe that community service is essential to their growth,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery said the farm had not paid last winter’s propane bill and asked the county to provide $2,000 as a one-time emergency grant.

She said while the house had wood heat, she would feel the house was safer with propane heat.

The commissioners approved a one-time grant of $2,000 from administrative funds and will review the non-profit organization’s requests through the budget-planning process. Deal said the cost of supporting the farm was much lower than the cost have having more people potentially enter the court system and incarceration.

The board appointed Jamie Hodges to the Watauga County Planning Board as an at-large member and appointed Mark Hurst to the New River Service Authority Board.

The next regular commissioners’ meeting is Jan. 14 at 6 p.m.