March 19, 2024

NCSD Board approves Berg construction bid

New softball field, high school parking lot projects also take steps forward

Monday was a busy night for the Newton Community School District Board of Education. A bid of $27.25 million for construction of the new Berg Middle School was awarded to Hansen Company, Inc. with a unanimous vote from the board.

The cost of the new building, which was designed by FRK Architects and Engineers, is coming in considerably less than the school district originally expected. When the school board approved the construction documents in April, FRK was anticipating the total cost for the project to be about $38 million.

Hansen Company, Inc.’s bid beat out two other bids for the project. Rochon Corp. of Iowa bid $28.34 million, and Stahl Construction Co. bid $27.65 million.

Superintendent Bob Callaghan reminded the board that a little over a month ago it passed a 2018 tax rate that is two cents lower than the current rate. He congratulated the board for being, he said, good stewards of the taxpayer dollar.

Through three separate bonds, the district secured nearly $27 million for the new Berg complex.

“I know it’s a lot of money,” Callaghan said. “But when you look at the big picture — the board has done a phenomenal job of trying to balance all of the needs within our community and our school district.”

Also on Monday, the board approved construction documents for a new softball field. The new field is going on land already owned by the district near the intersection of West Sixth Street South and South 15th Avenue West that is currently being used for soccer practice and extra parking during football games.

The new softball complex will include dugouts, a batting cage, fencing and storage. FRK is taking on the project and estimates the total cost to be about $831,000.

The project is scheduled to go out for bids in June, and construction is slated to begin on July 5. According to FRK’s Dave Briden, the project should be completed by November.

The board also approved construction documents for the re-surfacing of the Newton High School south parking lot and authorized Bishop Engineering to receive bids for the project.

The current parking lot is decades old and littered with potholes. The estimated cost for the new parking lot is between $480,000 and $550,000. The project is part of the school district’s 10-year plan. Construction is scheduled to start in June, and it should be finished by August.

Contact Justin Jagler at 641-792-3121 ext 6532 or jjagler@newtondailynews.com