By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
ASHWAUBENON – Three contracts totaling $984,847 for repairs and modifications to the high school track and nearby parking lots were unanimously approved Monday, July 20, in a special school board meeting.
The contracts awarded include $778,177 to Northeast Asphalt for general construction, $191,070 to Upper Midwest Athletic Construction for track surfacing and $15,600 to JWI for skirting for the track’s grandstand area.
Building and Grounds Coordinator Tom Schmitt said $680,000 was available for the track repair project of the $10.05 million capital referendum district voters approved in April for facility improvements, from which $457,605 will be allocated for the track.
Schmitt said each component of the track project had a line item, so things specific to the track could be applied to the referendum.
He said making the track repairs this year wouldn’t prevent holding football games at Goelz Field.
The project calls for fixing the dip in the track, improving the base and replacing the fencing to meet WIAA requirements for holding meets.
To fund the parking lot repairs, Schmitt said $295,000 was left over from the district’s contamination remediation fund, with the facilities maintenance and repair budget returning $276,000 to the general fund for a total of $571,000 available, of which $527,232 will be used.
He said the high school’s east parking lot and Parkview Middle School’s west parking lot, drive-thru loop and part of the east parking lot are included.
However, Schmitt said fees for the Rettler Corporation, which did design work for the track repair project, and project contingencies are not included in the contracts.
Business Director Keith Lucius said all the projects deal with contamination, so the remediation fund may be used for them.
In addition, he said grindings from the track may be used elsewhere without having to ship them out, saving on costs overall.
Though the district received only one bidder for the work, Lucius said the costs came in almost exactly where Rettler expected.
“Even though there’s only one bidder, we feel very comfortable we’re getting a competitive rate,” he said. “We’ve worked with Northeast Asphalt on a lot of projects recently. The village has worked with them as well. They’ve been very competitive on projects we’ve worked with when we’ve had multiple bidders.”
Lucius said the district is comfortable Northeast Asphalt will meet the timelines to complete the work taking place this summer.