The Oak Park and River Forest High School board has approved more than $3 million worth of summer construction projects to its campus.
At the Dec. 22 board meeting, administrators presented the board with a variety of projects, though the school chose to hold off on a proposed bleacher expansion to its football stadium.
Among the approved projects include replacement of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, replacement of sump and ejector pumps, upgrades to electrical wiring, masonry restoration and the installation of 125 new windows, which will replace an original set from the 1890s.
The school board approved those base projects for a bid of $2,073,037, with a contract awarded to Madison Construction Company.
In addition to the base projects, six alternative projects were included along with professional fees for a total capital improvement cost of $3,202,461. The alternative projects include new security cameras, replacement of a water heater and mixing valves, a new baseball backstop and asbestos abatement.
During discussions, board member Fred Arkin asked why a proposed visitor bleacher expansion at the football field and baseball field improvements were missing from the final contract.
“My concern is we’re moving very quickly,” Arkin said. “We passed it in its entirety, including the alternatives, on May 26. This is strictly the approval of the bids. My question is why are we backtracking from our original discussion to go forward with this project?”
Board President Jeff Weissglass said the football bleachers and baseball field projects were removed following the failed Nov. 8 swimming pool and facilities referendum.
A motion by Arkin to place those projects back into the summer construction plans failed to receive a second and was not voted on. Board members them approved the projects as proposed by a 6-1 vote, with Arkin voting no.
Board member Tom Cofsky said it is not uncommon for the school board to remove previously approved projects when final bids are known.
“When bids go out, there is often a breakdown into alternatives,” Cofsky said. “We’ve had situations in the past where alternatives were not moved forward even when bids were pushed forth. I think last year, there were a number of alternatives and bids came back too high. That’s what happened in the last couple years in terms of alternatives pulled out when we did the final bid selection.”
Twitter: @steveschering
