Valley School bid deadline nears

Next week marks a critical step in determining how much the new Valley Middle School will cost. Bids of the various project components are due February 7th. The School board will award the various packages at a meeting on the 26th.

Voters approved a $79 million dollar referendum in May – including $55 million for the new school. Tom Wesley of ICON Architects says they tried to incorporate as many of the wants and needs expressed by user groups into the final design plans.  “When we work with all these users everybody get a say but not everyone gets their way.  That is how we get to solutions that meet the assignment of here is the project…here is the program…scope…and here’s the budget.”

Ben Matson of Construction Engineers says usually the more bids the better.  “We have about 50 categories so 150 bids may come in.”

Project planning is running slightly ahead of schedule putting the groundbreaking for Valley Middle in May – with a winter of 2025 completion date.

Picture:  ICON rendering