Minooka CCSD 201 approves $396k bid for boardroom renovation

Minooka CCSD 201 has approved a $396,000 low bid by LRC Group to renovate its boardroom, a project that the district has been looking at for the last few years.

Mary Robinson, the district’s Director of Finance and Operations, said the driving force behind the renovation is the HVAC system.

“Sometimes it’s hot in here and sometimes it’s cold when it is working,” Robinson said. “Sometimes it’s loud.”

Robinson said the district had six bidders, of which LRC Group was the lowest. She said the district’s architects reviewed the bid and LRC Group has shown they understand the scope of the project.

“They’ve actually done a large project in the district a few years ago, and we were happy with the work they completed,” Robinson said.

The architects, Robinson said, are also comfortable accepting LRC Group as the low bidder. She recommended the board approve the bid, and acknowledged there would be a 10-to-12 week lead time before work can begin.

This means the board would need to relocate its meetings in June and July, with the project being completed by the end of July.

Superintendent Kris Monn said these bids were sent out with exact specifications already in mind.

“We told them exactly what they had to bid on,” Monn said. “They didn’t have the opportunity to quote a different flooring or quote different ceiling tiles. We said this is the project. Give us your price.”

Other bids received include a $469,800 from Bee Liner Lean Services, $478,804 from Liebe Construction Services, $511,000 from DBM Services, $511,000 from R.L. Sohol, and $520 from Anchor Mechanical.

The board also saw a presentation from IT Director Aaron Souza, who explained a plan to spend $85,814 to upgrade the board room’s audio and video equipment in an effort to improve the space’s flexibility. As of right now, the room is used once a month. The goal is for the renovated boardroom to be an extra meeting space for non-school board activities.

“We want to do small breakout rooms and make things easy, along with getting rid of the wired microphones, and a lot of that will go away inside a cabinet inside the storage room,” Souza said.

Souza said the plan right now is to add three TV’s in between the windows and have them on swivel arms so they can pull out and move around to give a better viewpoint during board meetings and presentations. The updates aim to provide a seamless way to use the room’s features without too much technology involvement. Those using the room should only have to hit a few buttons.

Mann said the boardroom is typically used for professional development meetings, curriculum work, and leadership team meetings. It doesn’t get used every day, but it’s used most days during the week.

Souza said the installation of this equipment would take place after the renovations are finished in July, with the hopes of having everything running by the first week of August.