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Turner unveils project list for renovation, expansion

BELOIT TOWNSHIP — No matter how the buildings in the Turner School District grow or change, some mechanical projects can’t wait.

In an April referendum, voters will decide if they’re willing to pay $7.34 million for a first phase of renovating and expanding.

The district’s building and grounds committee Thursday read a detailed project list for upgrades at the middle school/high school complex, 1231 Inman Parkway, Beloit, and Powers Elementary School, 620 Hillside Drive, Beloit.

“Many of (the projects) are immediate needs that we just can’t wait for any more,” said District Administrator Dennis McCarthy. “We’re spending more on fixing things throughout the year rather than just doing it right the first time.”

No matter how the district decides to expand, those buildings will stay in play, district Administrator Dennis McCarthy said.

The list includes $1.38 million in air handling upgrades at the middle/high school, a $1.25 million football and track field upgrade and $443,000 in upgrades at Powers.

At a Monday, Feb. 4, meeting, the school board will review the project list and vote on whether to spend the money now to get engineers and contractors on board.

That way, if the April referendum passes, plans and materials will be in place so builders can get to work right away, Bray and Associates architect Matt Wolfert said.

The school board also will discuss the ballot question that night and vote on it Monday, Feb. 11, McCarthy said.

Through February and March, the district will look more closely at how buildings will be expanded or reconfigured in phase two. The district has not set a timeline for possible expansion.

Options include:

-- Expanding and renovating all three schools for $30.4 million.

-- Closing Townview Elementary, 2442 W. Beloit Newark Road, Beloit, and building a new two-story high school behind the current middle/high school. What is now the middle/high school would then host third- through eighth-graders. The project is estimated at $41.4 million.

-- Closing Townview, renovating the middle/high school and expanding Powers to hold 4-year old kindergarten through fifth grade for $31.8 million.

TURNER FACILITY PROJECTS

Here is a sample of what the Turner School District is considering in a first phase of projects to upgrade school facilities:

Middle/high school

-- $1.38 million—air handling

Replacing or refiguring air-handling units, adding air conditioning to rooms without

-- $510,000—heating/plumbing

Replace boilers, piping and pumps; partially replace water for cooking and washing

-- $1.25 million—football field and track

Upgrade track from six to nine lanes, upgrade or replace bleachers, upgrade lighting, sound system, sound system and press box

-- $570,000—auditorium

Replace fly system, upgrade lighting and sound, construction and acoustics

-- $190,000—asbestos removal

Removal and replacement of tiles, air testing

-- $125,000—lockers

-- $35,000—IMC

New ceiling and lighting

-- $1.48 million—other

Replace HVAC, renovate all bathrooms, replace breaker panels, interior and exterior doors, expand district office parking lot, upgrade high school gym sound system and lighting, upgrade kitchen plumbing, additional security cameras

Powers Elementary School

-- $442,500—install air conditioning and a generator, paint gym and replace gym doors, replace water coolers, tuck-pointing, remove asbestos and replace floor tile, additional outside faucets

Permits and fees

-- $1.37 million—permits, architectural and engineering fees, contingency, contractor

Total

-- $7.34 million (based on whole numbers)