LISBON — During a presentation to the Lisbon Community School District Board of Directors at the Oct. 8 meeting, an outside audit of school facilities recommended a series of small projects to the board in a report for future construction planning for the school building.
The outside audit of the buildings was done by the Iowa Construction Advocacy Team, which partners with Estes Construction of Des Moines, to provide assessments to schools through the Iowa Association of School Boards at a reduced cost, and found that the building was in overall good shape.
However, a series of small renovations and improvements were recommended by the construction firm.
Superintendent Autumn Pino said the report is to help with future master planning for school construction, and the district isn’t taking any immediate action on the renovations recommended at this time.
“Just because we’re just coming off of a facilities project, I didn’t want to leave the impression that there was something up our sleeve with a whole new project,” Pino said at the Oct. 8 meeting. “But we really want to set the tone for really good, informed decisions for the future, since we’re positioned well now with our facilities, but there’s always more we’d like to do.”
Pino said that, instead, it is good information for future financial planning and cost projections to ensure the district isn’t surprised with any large, unexpected costs.
“Really good information to make future decisions and to really help when we look at it from a financial side, to make certain priorities,” Pino said. “Because a lot of times what happens with buildings, no matter what the condition it feels like, there are big costs that can come at once, if you don’t plan and think about that.”
Cafeteria remodel, new bus barn addition among larger items recommended
The report recommends that the district make substantial renovations to the school cafeteria and bus barn to enhance facilities, but found no pressing issues to warrant placing them on high priority.
Bryce Keeler, a pre-construction manager with Estes Construction, said the existing cafeteria is hard to get students through efficiently, so they recommend expanding the cafeteria, kitchen, and storage rooms to accommodate more space.
The ballpark cost of the kitchen remodel would be $1.313 million to $1.625 million. Keeler stressed that the project can take whatever shape the district needs, but the numbers are to provide estimates for master planning and budgeting purposes.
Keeler also recommended the district build a new addition to the bus barn. The renovation modeled in the report would provide the district with a roof over every bus it owns and a wash bay, since that service isn’t available in town.
Keeler said it might not be realistic to get every bus under a roof, but the project could change to conform with the district’s needs.
It is estimated to cost between $1.676 million and $2.049 million.
The report also recommends the district demolish the 1939 building, except for the gym, which is the only space in the building regularly utilized. It recommended the addition of locker rooms to the gym in the footprint of the former 1939 building. The renovation would also include new plumbing since the report noted plumbing issues in that part of the building.
New flooring, updated ceiling tiles, lights among recommended changes
Besides the three large projects recommended in Keller’s report, it also noted several smaller improvements that could be made to the district’s building.
This includes ceiling and lighting upgrades to modernize and standardize the ceiling and lighting throughout the building.
The report also recommended installing new floors in the older parts of the building due to the difficulty in cleaning high-traffic areas, fixing the heating in the locker rooms adjacent to the gym, and renovating those locker rooms to install bathrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The report also noted some exterior improvements for the district to make, including demolishing and building new storm drains in the building’s courtyard since the existing storm drains have settled and have become a trip hazard.
It also recommended that the district install more lighting near the bus barn to make it feel safer and install heating tracers in the gutters by the library to prevent them from freezing up.
The report also recommended some more “luxury items” or items that aren’t necessary but could improve functionality. These include getting the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems and fire alarms moved into one system rather than two to three systems each.
With the report on hand, the district doesn’t have any set plans for any of the recommended projects, but will keep it in mind for future planning, Pino said.
“What it’s doing is it’s being proactive instead of reactive for the future of the maintenance and financial budgeting of repairs that will be incurred throughout the next 10 to 20 years,” board member Allan Mallie said at the Oct. 8 meeting.