New high school

building has

$47 million price tag
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

The Watauga County commissioners and school board on Tuesday approved a guaranteed maximum price of $47.2 million for the new high school building and related facilities.

The construction price was presented by Martin B. Moser, director of pre-construction services for the contracting team of Barnhill Contracting Company and Vannoy Construction. The commissioners also directed the firms to put the construction project out for bid, which will determine the final cost. Moser said the bids typically come in within 2 percent of the guaranteed maximum price.

The guaranteed maximum price allows the county to go ahead and pursue financing, though the final bid amount could come in lower than the presented figure. The contractor receives incentives for bringing the project in under cost. The county will be seeking financing of up to $70 million for the project.

The construction will include the 273,000-square-foot, three-story instructional building, athletic fields and bleachers, lighting and other facilities. The total price, including $11.2 million approved earlier for site preparation and steel-and-foundation packages, pushes the total construction cost to an estimated $58.9 million, about $3.6 million higher than budget estimates made last year.

Individual contract bids will be taken for various areas, including the geothermal wellfield piping, electrical work, plumbing, heating and air conditioning and fire protection.

The county has already allocated an additional $8 million for land acquisition, design and engineering fees, environmental testing, surveying, demolition, geotechnical investigation and cemetery relocation. The facility is expected to be open for the 2010 school year.

Delivering a message
In other action, the commissioners adopted a draft resolution requesting the preservation of the downtown Boone post office, which the U.S. Postal Service is considering selling.

The resolution notes the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and was a Works Progress Administration project featuring a 1940 mural.

The resolution requests the building’s deed contain covenants that would require its remaining as a historic structure and requested the post office stay in the building.

The commissioners acknowledged the town of Boone had also asked for ownership of the building, and the resolution seeks the buildings transfer to the county, the town or a partnership of the two. The resolution will be forwarded to Congressional representatives and other U.S. officials.

Commissioner Mary Moretz said the postal service should maintain the building if it’s going to remain a post office.

“It’s disastrous to keep it where it is and not keep it up,” she said. “We need one (post office) in downtown Boone.”

Commissioner John Cooper noted the Boone Town Council had adopted a similar resolution and said the county didn’t want to compete for the building but instead work for the same goal of preserving it.
Commission chairman Jim Deal added, “In this instance, we’re all on the same page.”

County manager Rocky Nelson noted that legislators had been hearing from the public about the proposed sale and public input was important.

“Keep those cards and letters coming,” he said.

Comments can be sent to Realty Asset Management, 160 Inverness Drive West, Suite 400, Englewood CO 80112-5005, Attn: Gloria Charlson. Comments can also be set via email to Gloria.m.charlson@usps.gov or faxed to (651) 406-5816.

The commissioners also approved the exploration of a lease agreement with the Appalachian State University radio station to place an antenna on Rich Mountain near county communication towers.

The commissioners by consensus agreed to a renewable 25-year lease on the condition that the signal would not interfere with county operations and that the contract would have a one-year notice of cancellation.

WASU, 90.5 FM on the radio dial, is upgrading its studio and expanding its coverage area.