Project Updates

Project Updates from December 1, 2011 - January 24, 2012

2012-01-24T15:34:00.003-06:00

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.

Site Plan Development
On December 20, 2011, HSR Associates attended the School Board meeting to present the proposed location of the new facility on the 92 acres. The Board gave HSR direction to proceed with finalizing the draft site plan with the facility facing West, approximately 600 feet from Iowa Ave. One improvement that has been made is shifting the location of the south parking lot entrance to the center of the parking lot. The benefits of this change were that it: 1) creates a main entrance into the school with a focal point on the front entrance of the building; 2) moves the southern entrance to the new school farther away from the main entrance into MHI; and 3) reduces the length of the third lane (blow by lane) on Iowa Ave. On January 24, 2012, HSR and District Reps met with Terracon and the Civil Engineer to discuss the conditions of the soil. Discussion was held regarding the possibility of starting some preliminary earth work in early March 2012 to drain water from the site, preparing the site and soils to be a construction site and a long-term building site for the new school building. Terracon informed us that their final report with their recommendations on proper soil and site preparation will be finalized by the end of this week. This will then allow the Civil Engineer to finalize the Site Plan for Board approval within approximately three weeks. HSR will then submit the Storm Water Installation Permit for approval to the DNR, which will allow us to proceed with preparing the site for construction and bidding.

The Board also discussed the access road across the 92 acres during their early January 2012 work session. The Board decided to have the access road end behind the new school instead of continuing the road all the way across the 92 acres. A couple of the advantages to this decision were: 1) improves safety by eliminating a service / access road connecting to the parking lot at West Elementary, and 2) preserves more farm land which can be used to generate revenue for the District. The Board did agree to incorporate a biking / walking trail from the new facility to the West Elementary building. The trail will hook into the Liberty Trail, run in front of the new JR / SR high school, then wrap around the North property line of the 92 acres, East to the West Elementary building and football field.

A copy of the most current site plan showing what the 92 acres will look like in the fall of 2013 is shown here.

Floor Plan
HSR, the District representatives and staff continue to develop and finalize the facility and interior room layouts. HSR is now working with the District to determine the detailed specifications for bidding. Substantial progress was made on January 24, 2012 when HSR met with the District reps to determine which aspects of the project would be included in the general bid package vs. bid separately for potential cost savings.

Exterior Design
Substantial progress has also been made with the exterior design of the facility. One improvement that has been developed is the incorporation of an arched, translucent skylight system over the "main street" area. The “main street” area is the common area that runs down the center of the building. The skylight system will bring more natural lighting into the building. A dark maroon / burgundy brick will be utilized on the exterior. Tan brick colors will be used to accent the maroon / burgundy color. The most current renderings of the exterior design are shown below.

Interior Design
On January 11, 2012, Superintendent Peterson and Board members Eddy and Smith traveled to LaCrosse to meet with HSR to discuss interior design ideas and considerations. We met with two interior design specialists at HSR who provided their initial thoughts on how to incorporate the school colors into the facility, the type of flooring to be used, and the exterior appearance. A key consideration for interior selection is cost of installation versus cost of maintenance. We want to avoid extra maintenance costs and time when we could select a low-maintenance option now. Some images of the preliminary interior design of the "main street" area inside the common area of the building are shown below:

Energy Efficiency Considerations
HSR has made several improvements to the design of the facility to maximize energy efficiency. In addition, the geo-technical report from A-One Geothermal is expected to be finalized this week. HSR is working with the Wisconsin Energy Center who is analyzing the design of the facility for energy efficiency improvements. Their recommendations are expected in the new few weeks. HSR and the Board is also working on their evaluation of whether to include an alternative bid to make the facility 100% geo-thermal. The primary factors the Board will be considering when making a decision on the geo-thermal system are: 1) the anticipated payback on investment based on the Build for the Future Energy Committee's analysis; and 2) whether the geo-thermal system can be afforded within the project budget, even if the payback on geo-thermal is reasonable. On January 24, 2012, we discussed the potential of an open-loop ground water sourced geo-thermal system that has been installed in several schools in our region in the past few years. The open loop system could provide the same capabilities of a closed loop system at substantially reduced installation cost. HSR will explore the open-loop ground water sourced geo-thermal system over the next few weeks.

Fundraising
The Build for the Future Fundraising Committee has made incredible progress with the $6,000,000 "Bridging the Gap" fundraising campaign. At Saturday night's Mustang Foundation banquet, Rob Robinson (Chairman of the Fundraising Committee) reported that they have raised approximately $4.75 M to date! Any savings from in-kind donations or funds from FEMA for the SAFE ROOM are not included in this figure. For more on how to make your pledge to this project, please visit the Mustang Foundation website or contact Rob Robinson today at Rob.Robinson@bankiowa or 319-334-7181.

FEMA Grant for SAFE Room
The District, with the assistance of HSR Associates and INRCOG, submitted the SAFE ROOM grant application in December. The grant has cleared the State of Iowa's review process, and is now under final review by FEMA. Our INRCOG representative estimated that FEMA could make a decision in about 60 days. The final grant application requested approximately $800,000. The final determination was to make the four locker rooms the SAFE ROOM. It provides the best opportunity for cost savings and eliminated some additional issues related to having the auditorium be the SAFE ROOM.

Preliminary In-Kind Projects
During December 2011, a couple of volunteers removed some trees and the old fence line along the West property line. Special thanks to John Behan for his labor, and Lisa Duffy (the current farm tenant) for granting the District permission to start preliminary work on this project prior to March 1, 2012.

Timeline
During the bond campaign, the estimated bid letting date was February 2012, with bids to be opened in March, and ground breaking in April 2012. During the recent trip to HSR, HSR indicated the end of March 2012 for sending out bid documents, with bids opened in the middle of April 2012 and ground breaking in early May 2012. The District representatives have requested that the original timeline be followed if possible to strive for completion of the project by August 2013 as originally planned. As a result, substantial progress has been made the past few weeks. Several HSR representatives spent the day in Independence on Tuesday, January 24th to meet with District representatives and staff to continue to make various decisions on the design of the facility and site plan development.

Long Term Site Plan
The Board held a work session on January 5, 2012 to review the long-term facility plan for the 92 acres. Discussion was held on future needs, such as a new bus barn, tennis courts, soccer fields and baseball / softball fields. The school district and board remain focused on the new building and the site development required to support the new Junior/Senior high school building. Funds from the 2011 General Obligation Bond will be spent only on the new JR / SR High School, and not on these future needs. The Board will have another work session in the future to discuss the SILO funding availability for future development of the 92 acres.

If you have any questions or feedback on this project, contact Jean Peterson, Brian Eddy or Eric Smith.

In-Kind Donors Wanted in Construction of New Jr./Sr. High School

2012-01-11T15:53:00.000-06:00

The Mustang Foundation, Inc. and local volunteers are working hard to raise the funds needed to build the new Jr./Sr. High School and they can’t accomplish this goal without your support.

“Of course we always welcome monetary donations for the project, but we are also excited about our in-kind donors and all the work they are willing to commit to get this project completed on time and within budget”, stated Bruce Neeley, the project’s in-kind donation leader. “We are seeking in-kind donors in several areas including the use of equipment to move dirt, assistance in landscaping, concrete work and painting.”

Several volunteers have already committed to helping with the building site’s preparation this spring, but more are needed. If you are interested in donating supplies or labor, please contact Bruce Neeley (neeleybruce@yahoo.com or 319-230-0017). Monetary donations are tax-deductible through Mustang Foundation, Inc.

Fundraising efforts continue and the response to our campaign has been very positive. Donors have been generous and have really gotten behind the campaign. “As of December 31, 2011, we had nearly 300 pledges and we were approximately 75% of the way to our $6,000,000 goal.” stated Rob Robinson, Treasurer for Mustang Foundation, Inc. “Fundraising committee members continue to meet with potential donors on a regular basis and we welcome additional support.”

If you are interested in more information on making a financial pledge, contact Rob Robinson (rob.robinson@bankiowa.com or 334-7181) or visit the Mustang Foundation Inc.'s website at www.indeemustangfoundation.com.

Project Updates Since November 9th

2011-11-22T17:04:00.000-06:00

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.

Terracon Consulting Drilling for Soil Samples

November 11-15, 2011
Terracon completed their drilling of the soil samples on the 92 acre site. The Geo-Technical Engineering Report should be available by the middle of December 2011. Early indications show no major surprises with the condition of the soil.
November 15, 2011
HSR solicited and received bids for the Soil Conductivity Tests. The District selected A-One GeoThermal out of Earlham, Iowa to perform this service. They were the low bid at $10,900. HSR had estimated this service to cost approximately $14,000 - 15,000, so we were very pleased to see their bid come in under budget.
November 8 – 22, 2011
HSR Associates continues to update and tweak the floor plans based on feedback received from the District Reps, the Project Oversight Committee, staff and coaches. HSR expected to have updated floor plans available for the District Reps by Monday, November 28, 2011. After the District Reps and Project Oversight Committee give the update floor plans a final review, the plans will be shared with staff and coaches.
November 21, 2011
Brad Simonson and Bob Freerks of HSR attended the Board of Education meeting to update the Board and public on the progress of the floor plan and the Geo-Technical work performed by Terracon. The Board also discussed the need for a meeting to plan the layout of the 92 acre site plan. A meeting has been scheduled for November 30th. Representatives from various community groups (City, County, Farm to School, Environmental, Energy, Trails Association, MHI, District Grounds & Maintenance, among others) are in the process of being invited to join Brad Simonson and the civil engineers from HSR to discuss the 92 site plan. HSR also reported that the project remains on schedule for bidding in early 2012.
November 22, 2011
HSR Associates held their initial meeting with the acoustic engineering consultant. The goal is to ensure that key spaces, such as the auditorium and gymnasium, provide our visitors with the experience they expect.
November 30, 2011
HSR Associates will be attending a special board meeting scheduled for November 30, 2011 at 6 PM at West Elementary Commons to share the proposed floor plans to the Board for approval. The community is encouraged to attend to see the results of the all the great feedback and suggestions from staff that we incorporated into the plans.

Special Meeting to Present Jr./Sr. High School Floor Plans

2011-11-21T10:31:00.000-06:00

The Independence Community School District Board of Education will host a special meeting on Wednesday, November 30th at the West Elementary. The meeting will begin at 6:00pm with a representative from HSR Associates (architects working on the project) presenting the proposed final floor plans that the architects, staff, administration and Oversight Committee have been working on for the past few months.

“We encourage all district residents to attend this informational meeting. It is important for us to maintain a clear line of communication with the public about this very important and exciting project”, said Superintendent Jean Peterson.

The project’s Oversight Committee has been working diligently to research and incorporate the feedback received from district communities during the campaign to pass the bond referendum.

“We have received several positive suggestions regarding the site’s development and the construction of the new facility. After the bond referendum’s passage, we continued to meet with individuals and groups to collect various ideas and feel that the architects have put together a solid floor plan to meet our district’s needs well into the future”, stated Brian Eddy, Board President.

For additional project information, please visit www.buildforthefuture.org or check out previous blog posts.

Project Updates Since October 26th

2011-11-09T16:04:00.000-06:00

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.

Project Updates Since October 14th

2011-10-26T11:53:00.000-05:00

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.

October 15, 2011
HSR, under the direction of the District, solicited several bids for Soil Conductivity Test Wells for evaluation of a potential geo-thermal well field design. This report will be useful in determining the size, type, and cost of the well field design. The bids are due back by the end of this week. The soil conductivity tests are necessary to determine if the building site can support the heating and cooling needs of a school building our size.
October 17, 2011
The current farm tenant chisel plowed the 92 acre site after harvest of their crops. Although not required to do so, the tenant invested their time and costs into chisel plowing to make any remaining portion of the land more suitable for crop production in 2012. The tenant obtained the District’s permission prior to chisel plowing the land. The portion of the 92 acres not developed will be farmed in 2012.
October 24, 2011
The Board of Education approved the selection of Terracon bid for the Geo-Technical Engineering Report at $11,900. Within the 5-7 working days, Terracon anticipates being on the 92 acres to drill for soil samples. 34 boring will be performed within or near the proposed building footprint near Iowa Avenue. 27 borings will be performed within areas of the proposed parking lots and drives. The borings will extend up to 20 feet below existing grades. HSR anticipates providing a detailed soil sample report by the end of November 2011.
October 24, 2011
Brad Simonson from HSR attended the Board of Education meeting and provided an update to the Board and public on the status of the project. By early next week, HSR intends to provide updated floor plans for District Representatives to review. District Representatives will then meet with staff to share the updated floor plans.

The District continues to research options and solutions for the ICN (Iowa Communications Network) room located in the existing Junior – Senior High School. The room is the hub of many communication lines in Buchanan County. Finding a solution to keep the ICN room located at the existing site would be a cost savings for all communication entities involved, as well as the school district. The new school building will have an ICN classroom to provide our students with distance learning access. The ICN “hub” room has a completely different purpose and function from the ICN classroom.

Update on the Progress of the New Junior – Senior High School Project

2011-10-15T13:51:00.001-05:00

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.

Following successful passage of the bond vote on September 13, 2011, the architects at HSR Associates (“HSR”) started designing the preliminary draft of the floor plan for the new Junior – Senior High School. HSR used the conceptual designs derived by the Exploratory Committee in the Spring of 2011 (and modified based on community feedback during the bond campaign) as their starting point.

Superintendent Jean Peterson formulated a Project Oversight Committee comprised of Jennifer Sornson (Junior-Senior High School Principal), Lynnette Engel (District Finance Director), Brian Eddy and Eric Smith (Board members appointed by the Board to oversee the Project), Rob Robinson (Chairman of the Build for the Future Finance Committee), Keith Donnelly and Susie Toale (Build for the Future Community Connections Co-Chairs who will serve as liaisons to the community).

October 4, 2011: Superintendent Peterson and Board members Eddy and Smith travelled to LaCrosse, Wisconsin to meet with HSR’s architectural team. HSR’s most experienced engineers and architects, who have worked on several educational facilities, met with the District reps. HSR presented their first draft of the more detailed design plans. Multiple topics were discussed and District reps shared with HSR a list of feedback the Build for the Future Committee had obtained from the community during the bond vote, such as site layout, sloped roof, materials being used, energy efficiency options and use of in-kind labor. HSR and the District representatives then scheduled the first design input meeting with the Junior – Senior High School certified staff for October 13, 2011.

October 6, 2011: HSR sent updated floor plans to Superintendent Peterson who reviewed the plans with Principal Sornson. A few modifications were requested and updated floor plans were sent to Superintendent Peterson on October 11, 2011.

October 13, 2011: Brad Simonson, Gene Pankonien, and Bob Freerks from HSR travelled to Independence to meet with every member of the Junior – Senior High School certified staff. Superintendent Peterson, Principal Sornson and Board Reps Eddy and Smith participated in the full day of meetings, which commenced at 8:30 AM and finished at 5:30 PM. Over 60 certified staff members were provided an opportunity to give input and feedback over the 15 sessions, each 30 minutes in length. Every member of the secondary staff, secondary administration and coaches were asked for feedback in half hour sessions. All those in attendance provided insightful input and feedback on the design of the facility, including improved layout of classrooms, common areas, student locker area, administration offices, media center, fine arts and athletic areas. One change in particular that was discussed was flipping the layout of the building. This would put the academic wings to the South and the fine arts / athletic wings to the North. The general layout will remain the same, but some of the key benefits to flipping the layout of the building are as follows:

Places academic wing on the South side away from the new access road to provide a quieter setting for learning;
Provides greater opportunities for energy conservation with the academic wing facing southern exposure.
Places the fine arts and athletic wings to the North which provides easier access to future athletic fields along the North of the 92 acres.
Provides direct access off new access road to Receiving Area for kitchen and fine arts department.
Allows adequate space for future expansion of academic wings to the South.

Cognizant of the need to stay within the project budget of $27.5 M, HSR will now start making quite a few revisions to the floor plans based on all the input and feedback received from certified staff on October 13, 2011. HSR intends to have updated floor plan ready for review in the 7 – 10 days, at which time a second round of meetings will be scheduled with staff. The updated floor plans will be posted for community viewing on this website at that time.

Role of the Project Oversight Committee

The Project Oversight Committee’s primary objectives are as follows: 1) review all proposed design changes to ensure the estimated project cost stays within budget; 2) ensure that design plans remain consistent with the conceptual plans presented to the public as part of the bond approval; 3) assist in the communication of updates to the community; and 4) provide a recommendation to the School Board on approval of the final design prior to bid letting in early 2012.

Other Project Updates

HSR, under the direction of the District, solicited and obtained several bids for a Geo-Technical Engineering Report for the proposed site along Iowa Avenue. The soil samples will provide necessary details on the condition of the subsoil, which is an important but routine step to ensure proper design of the facility. We will be obtaining over 30 boring samples. The District selected Terracon, who was the low bidder at $11,400. Terracon will commence the soil sample tests soon after removal of the crops on the 92 acres. HSR anticipates to have the soil sample report by the end of November 2011.
HSR, under the direction of the District, will be soliciting several bids for Soil Conductivity Test Wells for evaluation of a potential geo-thermal well field design. This report will be useful in determining the size and type of the well field design. The bids requests are being sent out October 14, 2011 with bids due back in late October.
The District is researching potential options and a solution for the ICN (Iowa Communications Network) room located in the basement of the existing Junior – Senior High School. A meeting has been held with representatives of various utility companies and ICN to evaluate various options. The District is also exploring potential options for the existing Junior – Senior High School taking into consideration the feedback obtained on the potential relocation of the ICN room.

Projected Timeline

October – November 2011: Prepare floor plan design and layout of 92 acre site, which will be subject to review and approval of the School Board.
November – January 2012: Design development phase, which will be subject to review and approval of the School Board.
January 2012 – March 2012: Prepare Final Bid Letting documents, which will be subject to review and approval of the School Board.
March 2012: Bid letting projected to take place.
April 2012: School Board will open all bids and select the winning bidder for the project.
May 2012: Groundbreaking for the New Junior – Senior High School.
August 2013: Grand Opening of the New Junior – Senior High School.

Bond Referendum Passed – Now What?

2011-09-29T09:42:00.000-05:00

Build for the Future (BFTF), the committee of supporters for a new Jr./Sr. High School for the Independence Community School District (ICSD) is elated with the results of the September 13th bond referendum vote, which drew 69% approval from voters. Now our focus will shift to helping the ICSD communicate the design, planning and building process behind the construction of the new facility.

“The school district has approximately five to six months to finalize the design, construction drawings and specifications for bidding for the new facility”, commented project architect Brad Simonson of HSR Associates. ICSD Superintendent Jean Peterson will help Simonson solicit feedback from school district staff and community members before requesting bids from contractors early 2012. Groundbreaking is set to occur in the spring of 2012, with construction continuing to the fall of 2013. The new Jr./Sr. High School is estimated to be completed in time for the start of the 2013‐2014 school year.

The bond referendum will help finance approximately 45 percent of the overall cost of the new 169,000 square foot Jr./Sr. High School and all related site work. SILO funds, grants, and donations will cover the remaining costs of the project. BFTF will be assisting the Mustang Foundation, a non‐profit group, in the capital campaign to bridge the gap between bond and SILO funds and the overall cost of the project, to raise approximately $6 million."Organized fundraising efforts have been underway for several months but priority was obviously placed on the passage of the bond issue over everything else. We will raise the intensity of the pledge campaign in the coming months with the ultimate goal of "Bridging the Gap" prior to groundbreaking," stated Rob Robinson of the Mustang Foundation.

The Mustang Foundation is currently accepting gifts in the form of in‐kind contributions, cash, and other non‐cash assets (securities, CDs, real property). Please contact Rob Robinson at 319‐334‐7181 or rob.robinson@bankiowa.com if you are interested in making a donation.