School construction bid opening delayed

The bid deadline for the new K-12 school project has been delayed until March 12, Superintendent Dennis Carlson said Monday.

Carlson said that the delay is due to a request by several general contractors who said the district wasn’t allowing enough time between the date they had an on-site review and the bid deadline, which would have been Monday at 3 p.m. Contractors were concerned that they wouldn’t have enough time to fully look at the options associated with the bid and get bids back from sub-contractors in time.

Postponing the bid deadline will still allow the school board to award the bid on March 25, the date of the board’s regular March meeting.

The delay in bidding could mean that the project wouldn’t quite be ready for occupancy in the fall of 2014. Bid specifications require the winning contractor to have the project finished in 530 days.

Carlson said if the area has a mild winter next fall, the date delay shouldn’t make any difference.

Some of the options include a metal or composition roof, floor coverings, electrical controls, and other minor items.

All students are scheduled to move into the new facility around Sept. 1, 2014.