WHS design changes may lead to savings

A potential redesign for a portion of the new Whitefish High School is being considered after the final bid package for construction was pushed back last week for the second time.

The district’s construction team said further review of subcontractor bids is needed before it can recommend approval to the school board, and that additional time is needed to explore the idea of a redesign.

“We’ve made strong progress,” said district consultant Bayard Dominick. “We’re not ready and we wouldn’t have been even without [the change].”

During a school district’s budget and oversight committee meeting, Dominick said analysis will continue with an expected recommendation in two weeks.

This is the second time the construction team has asked for bid approval to be moved.

Loren Cantrell, project manager representing the general contractor Langlas & Associates, admitted that a delay isn’t favorable to the timeline of the project, but noted that it’s worth taking the time to ensure all the subcontractor contracts are correct.

“There’s benefit to negotiating ahead of time,” he said. “It’s difficult schedule wise, but there’s nothing slowing down (the work already being done) in the field. This will save us money with the subcontractors.”

The third phase is expected to cost roughly $10.7 million as part of the entire $19 million redevelopment of the school including new construction and remodeling. Estimates in April put the whole project at $450,000 over budget.

Cost savings could come from proposed changes to the school design.

The original plan called for removing what is now the foyer/main entrance to the school and replacing it with a narrow hallway.

However, the construction team has recommended a change that would retain the foyer area and current administration offices with some minor remodeling work to connect it to the new school. The administration offices will still move into the new front entrance of the school and the old administration area could then be converted for other uses. The concession area and two sets of bathrooms would also remain.

“At a minimum it would cost the same amount and it could mean cost savings,” Dominick said. “We believe it’s an improvement to the programming also. The impact is so powerful and it really does improve the school.”

Retaining the old administration area opens up the potential to turn that into an extended art space. This should ease some of the concerns by students that ceramics would no longer be offered once the Whitefish Independent High School building is sold. About 350 students signed a petition asking to keep ceramics classes.

Superintendent Kate Orozco said the district had not yet figured out a way to retain the ceramics classes if WIHS sold, but it remains committed to finding a solution.

“We didn’t want to see pottery go away,” she said. “This seems like a legitimate way to keep pottery at the high school. The space could also be a real center to exhibit the work of our students.”

In addition, there is a new plan to adjust the location of the multi-purpose performance space. This would allow for retaining existing bathrooms that had been scheduled for removal and rebuilding in a new location.

Both the gym and the performance space would exit into the foyer area. The construction team feels that by leaving the foyer area at its current size rather than creating a 13-foot hallway, it can better accommodate large groups of people. The new hallway would have added 3,000 square feet of space, but retaining the foyer would be a gain of 6,500 square feet of space.

The potential change in the design also contributed to the delay in approving the third bid package. The idea for the change only recently came about and it is being reviewed for engineering, design and cost.

Frank Sweeney, who represents the city on the committee, questioned the feasibility of doing a remodel of the foyer for cost savings.

“Renovation can be more expensive than tearing it down,” he said.

Dominick agreed, but pointed out that the changes to the foyer would be minimal including items like new paint and lighting.

Cost savings are expected to come from eliminating construction of the new hallway, which included over-excavation of the soils and a new foundation. Eliminating the new construction of some of the bathrooms planned is also expected to result in savings.

“We still have additional work to do to make sure this is feasible,” Dominick said. “If we don’t have to come back and rebuild the hallway because it already exists as the foyer then that simplifies things.”

The construction team is expected to continue to analyze the changes and return with a recommendation.

Dominick noted that the changes in design are contributing to the delay in beginning construction, but that in the end not having to demolish the foyer could be beneficial.

“It will limit the amount of impact on the students,” he said.