Pembina Hills trustees have approved a tender to complete the modernization of the Pembina North Community School at a cost of $3.447 million.
Director of facilities and transportation Tracy Tyreman delivered a report on the proposed modernization, which will take two years to complete, to the trustees at their meeting last Wednesday.
Tyreman described the modernization as a “complete facelift,” with new flooring, cabinets, lighting and so forth to be added to every classroom, along with new electrical and mechanical work.
Corridors will be re-painted and new energy-efficient lighting will be installed. There will be significant work done in the office area to add two new offices and provide better sight lines to the front entrance.
Two classrooms will also be combined in order to put in a CTS (Career and Technology Studies) creative lab. A new science classroom will also be added across from the CTS lab.
Tyreman acknowledged that while the project looks good on paper, it will pose some difficulties for students and staff with noise and similar problems.
“Talk to any school board that’s gone through full modernization and it’s a little tough,” he said.
The roof will also be completely re-done, said Tyreman, noting that there was little point in doing the project “piecemeal.”
Tyreman noted in his report that the CTS classroom, science classroom and expanded office area were all listed as priorities from the perspective of staff.
He said they went out repeatedly to talk to staff about possible improvements, and although it took a number of trips to gather that input, it was worth it to ensure their needs were being met.
Tyreman said their consultant at the Workun Garrick Partnership — the architectural firm that drew up the plans for Pembina North — put out a call for tenders for the modernization project by advertising in Edmonton, Westlock and Barrhead, as well as through the Alberta Purchasing Connection.
They received a total of six tenders, with the lowest being submitted by K-Rite Construction in the amount of $3.447 million, excluding GST.
This tender was approximately $254,000, or 6.9 per cent, lower than their pre-construction estimate, he said.
Notably, parking is not part of this modernization package. Tyreman indicated they will have to approach Alberta Infrastructure about using the funding difference to improve parking.
Noting that they are currently making the situation work, Tyreman described the parking situation at Pembina North as “critical.”
“We will be going to Alberta Infrastructure to use the extra money for parking,” he said.
Last summer, six modular classrooms were transported and then connected to Dapp School to accommodate its new enrolment, which was 226 K-9 students at the start of the school year.
Tyreman noted how fortunate they were to have those modulars installed by the start of September, considering that the Pembina Hills board only approved the tender in mid-June.
“That was a miracle,” he said.
Upon approval of the tender, Tyreman said it will go to Alberta Infrastructure’s Capital Review Committee (CRC) for review. Once that’s done, a joint approval letter will be sent from Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Education to Pembina Hills. The division will then hire the contractor, who in turn will arrange for workers and equipment to be set up on site.
He said the modernization will begin once the contractor is hired and they are ready to start work.
“There’s a lot that happens before we start ripping and tearing,” he said.
