The Commons at Yuma High School will be receiving a facelift after all, as part of Yuma School District-1’s $32 million expansion/renovation project.
The Yuma-1 Board of Education approved the Commons renovations during its regular monthly meeting, this past Monday night. Board President Dan Ross and members Kim Langley, Lyndsey Galles and Thomas Holtorf participated in-person, while Duane Brown did so remotely.
The presentation on the Commons work began with Chad Rayl of owner’s representative Project One relating some concerning news. He said a look inside the drop ceiling revealed some of the duct work had shifted, hurting air flow, as well as finding a wood structure under the rooftop unit, which is a building violation.
Both will be rectified during the renovation work.
As for the Commons upgrades, it will include new paint, new ceiling grids, all new flooring, new doors for the auditorium, The Pit, and the storage closets, and replacing the guts of the HVAC unit. The current flooring will be completely removed and replaced.
New windows in the Commons already were part of the project.
Estimated cost ranges from $335,000 to $375,000, though final figures are not in yet. Therefore, the board passed the motion to move forward “not to exceed $400,000.”
The project can be added thanks to plenty of contingency funds still remaining. Rayl explained there is about $2.7 million left in the combined contingencies of the district and Neenan Archistruction even after the upgrades.
He told board members to consider what other things that could be done within the scope of the project.
The board also was told the district will utilize its own funds for some upgrades at the north end of the football field complex. It will include a new storage shed, as well as a new entrance to the football field.
Rayl also gave an update on the rest of the $32 million project.
The exterior framing of the new wing is about completed, and interior walls will start going up soon.
Over at the Art/Band wing in the current school, all the concrete that was taken out as part of the demolition has been poured back in. The underground plumbing has been completed, and framing of the walls will begin soon. That part of the school will be ready for the 2021-22 school year.
