By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — A low bidder has been revealed for the construction of a community elementary school in the Magnolia Place area of Trussville.
Birmingham-based Argo Building Company is the apparent low bidder with a bid of $15,229,235.
Trussville-based Blalock Building Company’s bid came in at $15,360,500. Tennessee-based Bell and Associates came in with a total bid of $16,868,189.
A rendering of the elementary school that will be built in the Magnolia Place area
photo courtesy of Trussville City Schools
Trussville City Schools’ available funds for the project totaled $10,862,350.
The Trussville City Board of Education could vote to award the bid to Argo Building Company on Friday at 8:30 a.m. at the Central Office. The school system could also reject the bid, since it’s nearly $5 million more than the budget.
The bids for the renovation and construction of a community elementary school at the New Deal-era school site will not be opened Jan. 20 as originally projected. Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill said the projected date of opening those bids is now Feb. 5.
Each school will accommodate up to 500 students. The total cost — including construction, renovation, site work, contingency and other costs — for both schools was projected to be around $23 million.
The plan is to open both schools for the 2016-2017 school year.
Based on this year’s enrollment, there would be 427 students attending the New Deal-era school building in the Cahaba Project, 374 at the school in the Magnolia Place area and 1,025 students at the Paine Elementary Campus. With enrollment likely to increase in Trussville, building the schools to accommodate 500 students each now is logical, according to school officials.
Trussville residents on Feb. 25, 2014 voted to approve a seven-millage property tax increase to fund the two new community elementary schools. The final results of the vote were 2,813 people in favor of the increase, while 1,935 voted against it. Seven additional mills in property taxes will cost Trussville residents $70 per year on homes appraised at $100,000, $140 per year on homes appraised at $200,000 and $210 per year on homes appraised at $300,000.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
