School Board updated on building plans at workshop

Final drawings for the new Glencoe-Silver Lake school addition are almost done, the School Board heard at a workshop Dec. 1.
Bidding for the project will begin in February 2016. Superintendent Chris Sonju said the process could potentially have different stages. The project is still scheduled to break ground in March.
Looking at the high school, Sonju said the architects are working to make sure the grades match up for the difference in floor levels. Sonju said they also worked to ensure the locker rooms have two exits, are equal in space, are handicapped accessible and have access to the pool.
Sonju informed the Board the project will create a retaining wall outside of Lincoln Junior High in order to create a patio space for outside classrooms.
The project did reach a challenge with fire codes in the outside space between the two schools and outside the addition. To maintain fire codes in this outdoor patio area, the district must keep one of the doors open all the time. Sonju said the district can somehow gate the area to make sure it’s still secure.
Board Member Kevin Kuester asked if the district has met with the city to discuss the water requirements for the new project. Sonju said the school engineers are communicating with the city. He is waiting to hear back from the district’s architect with more answers on the water needs.
Kuester said he did not want to see any delays to the project because the district didn’t communicate with the city soon enough.

For more from the workshop, see the Dec. 9 print edition of The Chronicle.