After multiple bid processes, debates over track specifics, back and forth between the commissioners and school board, interventions by the liaison committee and inaction for more than a year, the Macon County Board of Commissioners voted to accept a $930,180 bid to rebuild the Macon Middle School track.
The winning bid came from GeoSurfaces. The other bids were $1,004,850 from DanGrady Company, $1,037,257.50 from Bryson Enterprises and $1,049,700 from Baseline Sports Construction.
The track will be six lanes and include an area for high jump on the scoreboard side (near the softball field), plus long/triple jump and pole vault areas on the side of the field. Plans also call for new paved parking between the track, baseball field and outdoor basketball courts with six handicapped spaces and seven regular spaces.
County Finance Director Lori Carpenter reminded the board that $750,800 remains from the Macon Middle School renovations, so the county would only be spending $179,380 at most. County Manager Derek Roland asked about the K-12 athletic grant worth $109,936 the county got in 2023. Carpenter said the county used the grant to pay part of LS3P’s $55,200 contract, so there could be extra funding.
Carpenter said the contract would include a five-year warranty, and the track would need recoating every seven to 10 years.
Macon County Schools’ Grounds and Facilities Director Todd Gibbs said boring samples showed the base needed replacement.
Commissioner Josh Young said his only reservation was the multiple other county building expenses coming up. Commissioner John Shearl asked why not put the new track over the current track, to which Gibbs said the base wasn’t adequate.
On Feb. 8, commissioners approved hiring LS3P to design and bid out the MMS track project. This came after the commissioners directed the school board to issue a request for qualifications for designers in October 2023, which the school board did on Dec. 21, 2023. In January, the commissioners lamented not asking for a design and building qualifications together.
Commissioner Paul Higdon asked for the difference between this $931,180 track bid and the $650,000 track bid last year from the same company. Gibbs replied that this would include paving for handicapped parking lot spots just outside of the track and a drainage system just inside of the track. Both Shearl and Higdon suggested waiting until the May 28 joint meeting before approving the contract. However, LS3P’s Emily Kite explained the construction timeline has a notice to proceed on June 3. This is so the MMS track replacement can be done before the Franklin High School stadium project begins in October/November, so the track team will have a track to practice on.
Young said the school board did what the commissioners asked them to do. School Board member and commissioners liaison Diedre Breeden said the school board is happy with the design. Shearl said they need to do it right.
Higdon mentioned how the Franklin High track teams have won state titles without an adequate track to host a home meet.
“If we’re going to do it, let’s do it,” Young said.
FHS, radio booster updates
Regarding the Franklin High project, Kite said LS3P is nearing the end of the construction documents phase, where they will turn over their schematics to Carroll Daniel, the project construction manager at risk. Kite said a Carroll Daniel representative will present an estimated cost at the May 28 joint meeting of the commissioners and school board.
The project has “largely stayed the same,” Kite said, without offering any more specifics.
The next phase for LS3P would be the procurement phase, running from June 1 to Sept. 30. The commissioners tabled paying LS3P the $238,081 lump sum until the May 28 meeting.
The commissioners unanimously approved hiring Haynes Technologies of Asheville to provide onsite emergency radio signal testing in six Macon County Schools.
Haynes’ rate was $1,250 per building/school and the commissioners approved spending $7,500. This was higher than the $7,200 flat rate offered by Teleco.
The Macon County commissioners have made putting radio signal boosters in all the schools a priority after the January Mountain View Intermediate lockdown after a student called in a shooting threat. Law enforcement told the commissioners they had trouble communicating during a sweep of the building.
The six schools that are part of the testing are South Macon, Cartoogechaye, East Franklin, Iotla Valley, Nantahala and Highlands. Murphy said Macon Middle School was outfitted with the signal boosters as part of the new auxiliary building addition, and they already tested Mountain View Intermediate. Franklin High School and Bartram Academy won’t be tested since both current school buildings will go offline in the coming years.
Murphy said during his presentation that one of the companies (Telico) had technicians drive up from Florida while Haynes was local, leading Young to make a motion for Haynes.
Macon County Project Manager Jack Morgan said there won’t be dead spots in any of those buildings after staff installs the signal boosters.
Previously, MCS Technology Director Tim Burrell said staff will install the radio signal booster this summer.
The board also unanimously approved $20,750 from the fund balance for architectural services at Macon Early College. The firm, Looper Architecture, told Morgan they found several issues.
Besides the failing non-structural brick piers and the walls bordering it, the timber frame entrance structure is failing, the perimeter grade needs adjustments to reduce the potential for moisture damage and there needs to be an addition of protective covering over non-covered exterior doors. Morgan said no MEC gutters are turned away from the building, causing some of the moisture issues.
Looper’s fees are $15,750 and exploratory concrete and moisture testing will run an extra $5,000.