ROCK SPRINGS – Several projects within Sweetwater County School District No. 1 will go out to bid after the board approved them Monday night.

There are several ways the Building and Ground Department is funded, with the largest being from the major maintenance budget. This funding is provided through the state and can only be used on projects that meet the states criteria. The major maintenance budget is right around $10 million.

The board approved to go out to bid on two projects from the Transportation Department. The first, to replace an antiquated exhaust system at an estimated cost of $192,000. The second is to install a heated drain system which is estimated at $220,000. Both of these projects are from the major maintenance budget.

Director of Buildings and Grounds Dan Selleroli explained they worked with engineers to get the estimates and they were not just numbers the department came up with.

Another project that will go to bid is to outfit a Ford F-450 with a larger spreader and plow. Selleroli explained the F-450 is really only used during the summer. He also said the truck they use to sand can only carry so much and it becomes a safety concern when employees have to keep driving back and forth on icy roads to get sand.

The spreader which will be hooked up to the F-450 will be able to carry more sand, cutting down on the trips crews have to take to fill up. Selleroli said by making these additions to the truck, it is more economical for the district rather than letting the truck  just sit over the winter months. Estimates for the spreader are between $6,800 and $9,850 while the plow is between $8,900 and $10,000.

As Selleroli went down the list of projects he explained to the board when the state comes and does their annual inspection, they rate projects which need to get down sooner rather than later. A rating of one is the most important and so on. Selleroli said the district has to prove to the state they are taking care of the ones and twos to justify using the major maintenance dollars.

Two projects at the Rock Springs Junior High were rated two by the state. They included replacing carpeting in the hallway by the mechanical room and on the auditorium stairs. He said both are tripping hazards and need to be fixed. Estimates for both carpet replacements are approximately $17,930.

Another project at the RSJH is the special education kitchen. Selleroli explained the kitchen is not very user friendly to students in wheelchairs. The renovation has been in the works since before Selleroli was hired by the district. He said it needs to be done so the students in wheelchairs can benefit from it. The estimated cost for the renovation is $45,890 and will be covered by major maintenance dollars.

Another project rated a two by the state is the replacement of translucent ceiling panels at Northpark. The estimated cost to replace the tiles is $161,268. The department also will go to bid for a HVAC system upgrade at Westridge which is estimated at $300,000.

At Sage Elementary, the department will go to bid to upgrade wall finishes. Selleroli explained the room they are looking at is the time-out room. He said they are looking for a wall finish that is more durable and easier to clean. Estimated cost is $8,200. All three elementary projects are funding by major maintenance money.

There are two projects at Rock Springs High School. The first is to re-cover the walls in the lower level gym. Selleroli said the covering has been ripped off and poses a safety hazard with jagged edges The estimated in house cost is $15,560 and was listed under 10 percent funding. Selleroli said if the district takes care of the projects ranked one or two, the state provides 10 percent of the money which can be used for any project the district feels needs to be done. It does not have to fit in the states criteria.

The other project at RSHS and two projects at the Central Administration Building have already been completed and the department is asking for post approval from the board. Selleroli said he does his best to follow district policy but there are projects which needed to be done right away. He said with the projects he informed the superintendent and received approval by the SFC.

The project at the high school was to fix a crack in the boiler which resulted in a boiler rebuild of $17,834. The other two post approval projects were at the CAB. The first was for a new air conditioner compressor in the computer server room. Selleroli stressed when the equipment reaches a certain temperature it will cause more damage so it was necessary to replace this compressor as soon as possible to avoid more damage. The replacement compressor came in at a cost of $14,656.

The second was a crack in the waste line at the CAB building. Selleroli explained the crack in the waste line was right next to the air return for the CAB. He said it was necessary to fix this as soon as possible to avoid employees getting sick.

Technology requests

There were also several requests from the IT Department which the board unanimously approved. The first is to initiate the Rock Springs Junior High School Improvement Grant computer and cart purchase. This is a sole source purchase as the equipment can only be purchased via Apple, Inc.

The financial breakdown for the project is $130,444.52 for computers and carts and $4,255.23 for adapters for a total purchase costs of $134,699.75. This project includes 150 MacBook Air, 150 Thunderbolt Gigabit Adapters and five Bretford MobilityCarts.

The IT Department received approval to  initiate the Promethean Board and projector purchases and installs for Black Butte High School. The purchase of the Promethean Boards is an educational source purchase as the equipment must be purchased through the preferred vendor for Wyoming Haddock Inc. The purchase of the projectors will be through Troxell and the mounting equipment will be through Haddock. Both were best price vendors. The installs will be completed through Computer Village as they are Promethean certified installers.

The financial breakdown includes $16,000 for 11 Promethean Boards and $4,400 to install them at a total cost of $20,400. For 11 projectors it is $10,120, $4,123 for the projector mounting equipment and $2,750 to install them at a total cost of $16,993.

The next project the board approved was the purchase of a PowerEdge R820 Processor for $13,808.68. This is a sole source purchase as the equipment can only be purchased via Dell Computer Corporation. This has already been purchased. The department said it was an emergency purchase for the PowerSchool database server and was received on Sept 29.

The department also received approval  to renew two contracts. The first is to renew PowerSchool Support at a cost of $26,096.50. This will extend the contract to Nov. 28, 2015. The second is to renew the VMWarea support through Venture Technologies for $11,172.93. This will extend the contract to Dec. 13, 2015.