Progress is being made on the new Early Childhood Center in Poplar Bluff.
Assistant Superintendent of Business Dr. Amy Jackson provided an update on the progress to the R-1 School Board at its monthly meeting Thursday.
“They’re making wonderful progress if you haven’t been out there,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be an amazing facility.”
Over the month of June, an HVAC system was installed on the roof and is ready to be operational when the building has permanent electricity running. However, the main projects for the month were more focused on the structure of the building.
Work was completed on the brickwork and the majority of the drywall. The windows have been installed and the plumbing work continues.
According to documents provided to the board, there will be temporary water inside the facility soon. A permanent meter has been installed and work is moving forward on getting permanent utilities running.
On the outside of the building, workers are continuing to remove excess dirt and the dirt work is expected to start soon.
Over the next few weeks, according to documents, work will start on the soffit and roof panels.
Jackson said clean up will be done before the start of the school year. The building is not expected to be complete before Aug. 15, the first day of the school year. Jackson said the expected completion date is currently November. At last month’s meeting, Superintendent Dr. Scott Dill, said the district decided against a mid-year transition due to concern about how difficult it would be on 3- and 4-year-old students. However, the completion date is still dependant on a variety of factors.
The cost for work over June was $591,650.50, which the board approved to pay.
At last month’s meeting, the board approved using capital project reserve to finish the project. According to documents provided to the board members, the payments are approximately 60% complete with $3,636,849.85 paid out of the $5,959,900 that as stated in the original contract. That does include the amount the board voted on Thursday night.
Dill said they will need to put a change order into the company to move where a drain will run. The district is receiving a grant through the Department of Natural Resources to put a tire surface under the playground that is planned with the Center.
This grant will not cover all of that work, Jackson said it would cover about 50%, which is considered a different project, but the district is looking for other funding that will make up the difference. In the meantime, Dill said, he wants to get that change order in so that some groundwork can be done in anticipation for the project.