The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Expenses primed for vote by District U-46 board

By Seth Hancock
  The Board of Education in School District U-46 is set to vote on $2 million in operations and maintenance fund items at its upcoming meeting on Monday, Feb. 28. The items were presented on Feb. 7.
  Included is a $1.9 million bid for boiler replacements at five schools split between Source Mechanical, Inc. ($1.1 million) and Ideal Heating Company ($878,221).
  Source Mechanical will do the replacements at Streamwood’s Heritage Elementary School, Bartlett’s Independence Center for Early Learning and Elgin’s Ron O’Neal Elementary School and Ideal at Elgin’s Coleman and Wayne elementary schools.
  “The boilers at Coleman, Heritage, Independence, Ron O’Neal, and Wayne are at the end of their expected lifecycles,” the proposal states. “As a result, it takes a great deal of manpower and resources to simply maintain these pieces of equipment. Due to their age, administration can no longer source some of the parts needed for repairs. Thus, these critical building systems need to be replaced before they fail.”
  Work will begin on June 8 with substantial completion expected by July 25.
  Also set for a vote is a bid from Weaver Consultants Group costing $49,800 for an asbestos three-year reinspection and management plan update.
  “The Asbestos Reinspection and Management Plan must be updated every three years according to state and federal regulations,” the proposal states. “An independent third-party consultant, licensed in the asbestos discipline, must perform the required tasks, as mandated by applicable regulations. The information obtained from the asbestos reinspection helps to maintain existing records and assists in the facilitation of future repairs and renovations for construction projects.”
  The project begins after the bid is awarded with substantial completion expected by Oct. 1.
  Sue Kerr, the board’s president, asked which schools would be inspected to which Patricia Waldau, interim director of plant operations, said it will cover the “majority of the buildings in the district.”