by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington school board approved two major change orders this week on the safety/security construction project that includes replacing the HVAC unit at the Wellington Middle School cafeteria, and replacing the WMS boiler that is almost 50 years.

With the new change orders, the bond project will be just $223,989 under budget. The original bond project was slated at $11.55 million which includes restructuring the entryways for security measures to the eight school buildings, replacing HVAC units at three elementary school, building a WMS auxiliary gymnasium, among reconstruction issues.

Ed Klock of PBA in Wichita, the chief architect of the firm, said he doesn’t anticipate any additional big change orders and the project should stay within budget to the very end.

The USD 353 construction project is nearing its end with the restructuring of the Wellington Middle School parking lot being the last item to complete. The parking lot won’t be repaved until the auxiliary gym is completed which Wellington school board president Jackie Berryman joked was “getting bigger every time I see it.”   

The target completion date is Aug. 16, the start of the next school year. The Wellington school board held their collective breath at that statement, knowing all too well that school was delayed a week last August when several school buildings were not ready to be open at school’s start up date – especially at Washington Elementary.

The latest round of change orders included:

•replacing the HVAC at the WMS cafeteria, theater, kitchen and music room;

•replacing the old boiler at the WMS, something that has not been done since the building was constructed in the 1960s;

•instilling new light fixtures in the music room;

•modifying the new west bleachers with taller risers to cover non-structural walls;

•expanding sidewalks at Kennedy and Eisenhower.

The total change orders were $1.1 million.

Wellington board member Angie Ratcliff asked if there was enough money left to properly do the middle school parking lot.

“I believe so,” Klock said.

“You don’t sound convincing,” Ratcliff responded.

Much of the meeting, held Tuesday afternoon, provided details of the current progress of the project and the need for the change overs. For example, Klock said boilers need to be replaced every 35 years and this one was nearing its 50-year anniversary.

None of these change orders were of surprise to the board members. Lengthy discussions have been made in months past especially concerning the heating and cooling inefficiencies at the middle school. One of the biggest complaints have been the auditorium and kitchen are so close together that the heat generated from the kitchen has created too much heat for the auditorium, thus the need to cool it down comes at a more exorbitant expense.

Klock said the new unit will be much more efficient which will cut down the costs.

Five board members were at the special meeting, who all voted yes on the change orders. Carol Hadorn and Jason Newberry were not in attendance.

Follow us on Twitter.