Project Updates Since October 26th

The following information is made available courtesy of the Independence Community School District and prepared by Superintendent Jean Peterson and Board Members Brian Eddy and Eric Smith.

Revised Floor Plans as of 11/09/11

• November 2, 2011
  Brad Simonson, Gene Pankonien, and Bob Freerks from HSR travelled to Independence again for their second meeting with the Junior – Senior High School certified staff and coaches. Superintendent Peterson, Principal Sornson and Board Reps Eddy and Smith participated in the half-day of meetings, which commenced at 1:30 PM and finished at 5:30 PM. Board Reps John Christensen and Rusty Donnelly also rotated with Smith and Eddy for a couple of sessions to participate in the process. The updated design plans were shared and an additional round of feedback was received. HSR intends to have updated floor plans ready within the next 7-10 days, which should put this phase of the design process near completion.
  
  After the updated floor plans are reviewed by Oversight Committee and District Reps to ensure HSR addressed all the agreed upon changes, the floor plans will be shared with the staff and community. The goal is to have the floor plans finalized and presented for Board approval in late November 2011. Staff are also being given an opportunity to present their desired layout of their rooms (teacher desk, student desks, etc.). HSR’s interior designer will discuss details of the gym, auditorium, media center and other aspects of the project in the future as well. The primary objective at this point is to finalize the general floor plan. The interior details will be then be addressed.
  
  
• November 4, 2011
  The Oversight Committee met to review the requested changes and to ensure the projected scope of the project stays within budget. We then provided HSR with direction on what suggested changes and renovations could be made to the floor plans cognizant of the project budget.
  
  
• November 8, 2011
  The School District received five sealed bids for the issuance of the $8,115,000 of School Infrastructure Sales, Services and Use Tax Revenue Bonds (SILO Bonds). The Board accepted the low bid from Northland Securities, which came in at a true interest rate of 2.89%. PiperJaffray, the investment banking firm hired by the District to assist with the issuance of the bonds, reported that this is the lowest interest rate ever obtained by a School District in Iowa for SILO Bonds. This is great news for our District.
  
• November 9, 2011
  Terracon is expected to be on the 92 acres yet this week, weather permitting, to drill soil samples. This Geo-Technical Engineering Report should be available by the end of November 2011.