Steering committee breaks down costs

In a continued effort to keep the public informed of the progress being made on the community improvement project first introduced at the end of last year and revisited in last week’s issue of The Standard, the steering committee for the project has broken down and outlined the estimated costs for the overall project. A search for architectural firms to help formulate the overall project is currently nearing completion.

The collaborative effort of Allamakee County, the City of Waukon, and the Allamakee Community School District has helped develop what had been three individual projects into an overall plan for improvement and economic development.

PROJECT SCOPE

The initial specifications of the proposed overall plan weigh in at a total cost of approximately $14.5 million. That overall plan includes a 10,000 square foot Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) satellite campus, a 35,000 square foot community wellness center, and a building addition to the current high school that would house 16 classrooms, new music education facilities, and a larger competition gymnasium.

An overall breakdown of the estimated $14.5 million total into the three basic components of the project plays out as such:

The NICC satellite center is estimated at a cost of $1.5 million, a figure that came from NICC officials and is derived from a similar structure recently constructed for the institution in Cresco. Location of the local structure within the high school campus was also the choice of NICC following an initial site selection process from more than a half dozen proposals.

The community wellness center was figured out at a n estimated cost of about $2,250,000, that amount being based on similar structures that have been constructed in Waukon-sized towns such as Cresco, Anamosa, New Hampton, Huxley, and Oelwein.

An estimated $1 million in infrastructure costs for road and utilities work is also figured into the total overall project cost.

The remaining estimated $9.75 million of the overall total project cost lies within the school facilities addition and its focus on not only taking advantage of the efficiencies of a unified junior high/senior high campus, but also addressing the deteriorating condition of the current junior high building.

JUNIOR HIGH

An unstable foundation and resulting buckling of the northwest wall of the existing three-story part of that junior high facility provide the initial challenge to the school facilities issue, but prove to be just the tip of the proverbial iceberg for the junior high structure. Consultation with a construction firm revealed an approximate cost of $795,000 to stabilize the troublesome wall, with no guarantees of long-term stability.

In addition to that possibility of spending the amount of money required for the stabilization on a project that has no real guarantee of success, any such work done on that wall will also lead to additional required work in becoming compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA). Discussions with the Iowa State Fire Marshal and State Building Inspector revealed that renovation costs totaling more than 20 percent of the original cost of a building being worked on automatically require that facility to come into compliance with ADA guidelines.

Initial figures obtained in assessing the current junior high building needs totaled nearly $5 million. That figure includes initial estimates of the nearly $800,000 for stabilizing the troubled wall area, just over $2.75 million to meet initial ADA requirements, and another nearly $1.25 million in repairs and improvements necessary to meet minimum building code requirements.

FOOTING THE BILL

Of the estimated $14.5 million price tag, the committee is looking at a school bond issue of approximately $9.5 million that would help cover construction costs for both the school addition and NICC center - that bond issue amount being less than the previous bond issue asking by the school district and now including the added benefit of the NICC center. That bond issue is tentatively scheduled for vote in December of this year.

The nearly $700,000 influx announced in last week’s Standard from the combined Harkin Demonstration Construction Grant secured by the school district and its match requirement will be the first tier of what is anticipated to be an estimated $1.5 million of the overall project cost coming from grant funds. That initial Harkin Grant has the flexibility of being used for construction of the school facilities improvements or the NICC satellite center.

The City of Waukon and Allamakee County are also on board with additional sources of funding and possible infrastructure for their respective roles in the overall project. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenue will be looked to by the City of Waukon to help finance its community center concept, while the county’s focus is to benefit all of its residents with the bringing of the NICC satellite campus to Waukon for use by anyone from youth to senior citizens within the county and beyond.

PUBLIC INPUT

Within the development process of the overall plan, input from community residents is invited and will be sought in a variety of different ways on a variety of different subjects. Plans are in the works for submitting surveys and holding group focus meetings on how to best benefit the entire community with this proposed plan for economic development. Input will also be sought on what type of programming would be of most interest to area residents at the NICC and community wellness centers.

Those wishing to contribute to any of the committees formulated for this improvement project are asked to contact Gail Prestemon by phone at (563)568-3451 or (563)535-7448 or by e-mail at gail@waukonstatebank.com.