Citizens group dropping lawsuits against new high school

Published 7:17 pm Tuesday, June 9, 2009

A day after a citizens group said it will drop two lawsuits seeking to stop construction of a new Whitfield County high school, the Board of Education approved low bids for the building.

Board members voted on Tuesday to accept the lowest bids offered, as long as the contractors agree to meet all the specifications. They instructed superintendent Katie Brochu to draw up contracts with the second lowest bidders if necessary.

The preliminary bids for the project, broken out into seven contracts, came in at a total of $30.6 million.

The school’s cost, including $3.1 million for sewer work as well as money for several smaller parts of the project, is expected to top out at $43.3 million. That’s about $15 million under the original budget of $58.7 million, said Rick Ott of construction management firm M.B. Kahn Construction Co. Inc.

Board attorney Stan Hawkins said after the meeting that he was unaware of the decision of the Concerned Citizens of Prater’s Mill and Whitfield County to drop its lawsuits. He said he has not received any paperwork.

“Obviously, we hope it’s true,” he said.

Concerned Citizens member Conrad Easley said in an e-mail to the media that the high school project is so far along — $3.6 million has already been spent — and the litigation has dragged out in court for so long that the group has decided not to pursue further action.

“I do believe our lawsuits have put on notice the taxpayers of Whitfield County and the city of Dalton, the printed media and area television stations concerning the obligation for intense monitoring of the cost of the high school construction, and just as important, the carrying cost for the years to come,” Easley said. “… We were opposed by our own taxpayer money, but we believed our efforts would save the taxpayers in the short and long run.”

Superior Court Judge William Boyett ruled Thursday against the group’s effort to stop school officials from spending the $3.1 million on a sewer system to the property. Easley said the group will not appeal and will not pursue a lawsuit against the state Department of Education alleging the department violated its own policy by approving a site which contains a 100-year flood plain.

“I feel comfortable with what we did,” Easley said. “I think we did the right thing.”

Board chairman Jerry Nealey said most people agree Whitfield County needs a new high school even though there was some controversy about choosing the site on Crow Road near Prater’s Mill for the school that is set to open in August 2011.

“The timing of this couldn’t be better,” Nealey said, noting that the declining economy has driven down construction costs.

Ott said the project should create 400 jobs, about half of which will be local. He said it is expected to have an $80 million to $100 million impact on the local economy.

Board members plan to meet on Thursday during the Georgia School Boards Association convention in Savannah to review the bids again. Brochu said she’ll work with M.B. Kahn associates to ensure all the specifications were met in the original bids.

Board members said they’ll call a special meeting next week in Whitfield County to finalize what they discuss in Savannah.



Low bidders

Building and finishes, EMJ Corp., $18,350,000

Kitchen equipment, Norvell Fixture, $495,000

Fire protection, Maximum Fire Protection, $255,854

Plumbing, Polk County Public, $1,460,000

HVAC, Shumate Mechanical, $3,701,000

Electrical, Penco Electric, $2,757,000

Specialty lab casework, Georgia Institutional Furnishings, $315,923 (only bidder)



Second lowest bidders

Building and finishes, VCC, $18,989,124

Kitchen equipment, Manning Brothers Foodservice, $522,125

Fire protection, King Fire, $258,490

Plumbing, Dalton Service, $1,498,580

HVAC, Callahan Mechanical, $3,845,000

Electrical, Faith Technologies, $2,791,000



Source: Whitfield County Schools

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