10-6-23 Construction Update
Greenback Families:
Fall is here! Here’s an update on our construction projects.
The asbestos abatement at the ACE building (old high school) was completed in September, and demolition to prepare for the renovation is now underway. We are putting pictures into a photo album under the “Bond Projects” tab on our website and posting some pictures on our social media. Simpson Construction is our Construction Manager and manages the bidding with subcontractors. Pratt-area companies have an opportunity to bid on various parts of the project, and there will be meaningful parts of the overall project that will be completed by local entities. USD 382 will work to be good stewards of our resources and select those subcontractors who provide the best value for our taxpayer dollars.
We will also have a tab for updated architectural plans. SPT, out of Wichita, is our architect. Since the bond referendum passed in May, SPT has been meeting with various teacher/staff stakeholders to refine plans to best fit our school and community needs. Greg Tice, a partner at SPT, is our lead architect and he was present for each of our community meetings and pre-planning last spring. SPT was the top recommendation by a committee made up of board members and community members who participated on the facilities committee. This group interviewed three architectural firms in October of 2022 after first vetting the RFQ packages from multiple firms. The whole BOE then accepted that recommendation. Likewise, Simpson Construction was chosen by the BOE after the interview committee made its recommendation, again selecting the committee’s top choice in February of 2023. With each process, the committee felt it interviewed and reviewed bid packages from multiple quality companies but believed SPT and Simpson Construction to be the best fit for our district and needs. We have been pleased with SPT and Simpson’s work with our district thus far and anticipate the great relationship to continue as we move forward.
While we are in the construction phase, we have moved our preschool, central office, and a few other ancillary programs to our temporary location at 227 S. Howard St—previously the home of the Pratt Rehabilitation Center. Our custodians and some summer hires were hardworking and managed to get us set up in time so we could start on time with our preschool. We appreciate the help of the city and county in working with us to get us up and running. We believe we have made improvements to the building as well and set up future use of the facility. Pratt is the place to be, and I appreciate that strong sense of community.
Of course, we still have lots of planning (and replanning) to do during this dynamic moment in our district’s history. At this point, we are running on schedule but we know we will face challenges. We will continue to update publish updates.
Respectfully,
Tony Helfrich