School bond projects formally completed

Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District has officially completed two multi-million dollar gymnasium multi-purpose buildings and another bond-funded project is coming in the future.

Notices of completion have been filed with Tuolumne County for the Tioga High School gymnasium in Groveland and the Don Pedro High gymnasium in Don Pedro.

The projects were funded through Measure M, a $9.3 million general obligation bond measure passed by district voters in November 2005.

The total cost of the projects completed by Measure M funds so far is about $14 million, said Project Manager Travis Kirk. About $2 million remains earmarked for renovating the Tenaya Elementary School gym and stage.
   

Modernization work at Tenaya Elementary in the summer of 2007 included installing a 27- station computer lab, updating the administration and primary buildings, upgrading the phone, clock and bell systems, and purchasing new furniture, Kirk said.

Construction on the Tenaya modernization cost $1.6 million, Kirk said.    

State matching funds, interest on the bond funds and some developer fees are helping fund the work.

Both gymnasiums at Don Pedro and Tioga have been complete for several months, but the final inspections were held up because of issues with the stove hoods in the kitchens.

The Ansel hood system automatically turns on in case of fire and extinguishes the fire. The systems are intricate and must be approved by the state Division of the State Architect, he said.

The Tioga gym took about 18 months to complete. Don Pedro’s gym took about 22 months.

The Tioga gym is 12,500 square feet and the Don Pedro gym is 9,200 square feet, according to Aspen Street Architects, the Angels Camp firm that designed the buildings.

The price tag on the Tioga gym was $5.61 million, and Don Pedro was $4.13 million, not including “soft costs,” Kirk said.

Soft costs are project manager fees, computers, furniture and equipment and inspector fees, he said.

During construction there were $265,720 in change orders for Tioga High’s gym and $229,223 in change orders for Don Pedro.

For Don Pedro, $117,000 was for the Tectum acoustic ceiling, Kirk said.

The change orders at Tioga were the hardwood floors and “path of travel” things like hand rails and stairs to the soccer field, Kirk said.

The Wisconsin hardwood surface on the Tioga gym is “probably the best floor in the county,” Kirk said.

It’s the best part of the gym, he said. The gym also features a sound system that could “blast the neighborhood,” Kirk said.    

The ceiling was changed in Don Pedro because the acoustics would have sounded like a cave, Kirk said. 

The bonds were given a clean audit earlier in the year but future plans for Tenaya have been put on hold until the new district Board of Trustees members are in place. The entire school board was recalled May 19 and the newly elected board was sworn in at a special meeting Wednesday.

Kirk, Aspen Street and Tenaya Principal Marianne Quinn have discussed the renovations some, but not in detail, he said.

Tenaya’s gym has the only stage in the district, so they may renovate the stage, Kirk said. Kirk also said it is important to residents that Tenaya’s gym be a community use space.

The projects have gone remarkably well, Kirk said.

“I’m really happy with how they turned out,” Kirk said. “It’s just good to see kids in there playing.”