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Eustace ISD Construction Project - Overview

At a called board meeting held on April 27, 2006, the Eustace ISD Board of Trustees voted to approve a $7,560,000 building project. The building project will provide additional classrooms at the High School and Intermediate School, expansion of the athletic facilities at the Middle School, and a complete renovation of the Primary School. RPR Construction Company out of Tyler was awarded the project. RPR Construction has been in the construction business for 23 years. RPR averages completing about $25,000,000 worth of construction work a year. They currently have projects underway in Gilmer ISD, Tyler ISD, as well as several projects at UT Tyler. RPR also has several non-education related projects underway.

Malcolm McKinley, the district’s architect was at the meeting to discuss different alternatives available in the building proposals. Mr. McKinley is employed by the architectural/engineering firm of Goodwin-Lasiter. Mr. McKinley pointed out that the base bid of $7,590,000 was below his last estimate of $8,300,000. Several alternatives were presented to the board for consideration. After much consideration, the board voted to take the alternatives that added ceramic tile in the main corridors of the High School and Intermediate School corridors (+$23,000), to accept the alternative that added rubber mats in the weight room at the Middle School (+10,500), to accept the alternative to construct two phases at the Primary simultaneously (-$20,000), to accept the alternative to omit the watertight warranty offered with the roof (-$27,000), to accept the alternative of substituting a laminate finish for stained finish (-$28,500), and to accept the alternative of adding wall carpet in the Middle School gym (+12,000). All together, these alternatives actually lowered the final cost of the construction project by $30,000.

The awarding of the bid at last night’s board meeting was the culmination of almost two years of work by the board and by citizens in the community that served on the Construction Committee. The Construction Committee began meetings in September of 2004 that continued through October of 2004. The Construction Committee spent many hours talking with financial advisors, talking with the district’s architect and reviewing the needs of the district. The Construction Committee unanimously voted to recommend to the Board of Trustees a $13 million bond project to be broken apart in two phases. The first phase, $9 million, was to consist of taking care of immediate academic needs throughout the district and providing additional space for athletics at the Middle School. The second phase, $4 million, was to be based on the district receiving state funding to help offset the cost of the first phase. The second phase was to consider the building of a new competition gym for the High School.

The Board of Trustees voted to accept the recommendation of the Construction Committee and called for a bond election in February 2005. The bond project was approved by the voters of Eustace ISD. Following the bond election, work with our architect and engineer began in earnest. Several different plans were considered and many modifications were made to ensure that the district would get the most construction for every dollar spent. In February, the board gave final approval to the plans.

Below is a breakdown of all major projects that will be completed with this bond package:

Note that the cost of the bus barn is an estimate. Bids for the bus barn have not yet been solicited. Also, note that the estimated total cost of all the projects listed is $8,850,400. Even though the district has already completed renovations on the old administration building and moved special services into this building and installed new air-conditioning units in the high school, we currently have available approximately $8,900,00 from our bond sale. Taking into account that the district actually received less than $9,000,000 from the bond sale because of fees and taking into account the renovations already completed, having about $8,900,000 available for all of these other projects puts the district in a very positive position. It is estimated that by the time the major payments are being made the district will have available approximately $9,000,000 for this project (the increase comes from accrued interest).

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Summary of Projects

High School Renovations and Additions:

	Addition of 9 new classrooms and 1 science lab
		Including additional student desks, computers, teacher desks and filing cabinets, network wiring, computer workstations, and TVs
	Replace original carpet in corridors with ceramic tile
	Replace original carpet in classrooms and library
	Paint the interior of the building
	Replace ceiling tiles as needed
	Enclose the “porch” in the food science classroom for additional classroom space
	Install new air-conditioner units at the high school (already completed)

Middle School Renovations and Additions

	Renovation of existing special services building to house new classrooms
	Addition of new locker room
	Addition of new practice gym
	Addition of new weight room

Intermediate School Renovations and Additions

	Addition of 7 new classrooms
		Including additional student desks, computers, teacher desks and filing cabinets, network wiring, computer workstations, student chairs and TVs
	Addition of new cafeteria seating area
		Including tables for seating
	Air-conditioning of the Intermediate School Gym

Primary School Renovations and Additions

	Addition of 20 new classrooms
		Including additional student desks, computers, teacher desks and filing cabinets, network wiring, computer workstations, student chairs, student tables, and TVs
	Addition of new media center
	Enclosing walkways
	Renovating and reconfiguring the entrance and office area
	Air-conditioning of the Primary Gym

District Improvements

	Addition of a new bus barn
	Renovation of old bus barn for maintenance department
	Renovation of old administration building (already completed)

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Architect/Engineer

Engineer/Architect:   Goodwin-Lasiter, Lufkin, Texas                        
Lead Engineer:          Larry Lasiter
Architect:                  Malcolm McKinley

Goodwin-Lasiter, Inc. is one of the largest firms in the East Texas Region, with a staff of 44 employees, including 19 professional-level staff members.  Our professional staff includes 8 registered engineers, 5 registered professional land surveyors, 1 surveyor-in-training, 2 registered architects, 2 engineers-in-training, and 2 intern architects.  Engineering registration is currently maintained in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky.  Surveying registration is currently maintained in Texas.  Architectural registration is maintained in Texas. 

The staff has a combined professional experience of over 100 years, with expertise in civil engineering, structural engineering, sanitary engineering,  mechanical/electrical/plumbing engineering, architecture, surveying, and planning.  Our business has enjoyed continual growth because we have been able to provide clients building projects that fit their needs, budgets and schedules.  Because Goodwin-Lasiter, Inc. is a multi-discipline firm, we can staff projects to meet the time demands of our clients projects. 

Planning, Design and drafting are produced using "state-of-the-industry" computer-aided systems.  Surveying data is presented in Geopak/Microstation or Maptech/Autocad format.

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Financial Advisor

Doug Whitt, Senior Vice President
Southwest Securities, Plano, Texas

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Construction Contractor

RPR Construction Company, Tyler, Texas

RPR Construction has been in the construction business for 23 years. RPR averages completing about $25,000,000 worth of construction work a year. They currently have projects underway in Gilmer ISD, Tyler ISD, as well as several projects at UT Tyler. RPR also has several non-education related projects underway.

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Timeline

RPR Construction submitted their proposal based on an 18 month construction schedule.

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