By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The "Deal of the Century" is how McCownGordon Construction Project Manager Todd Dumler described USD 428 Great Bend's acquisition of the former Cuna Mutual complex near 24th and the 281 Bypass. Monday night, the board of education finalized a guaranteed maximum price of $4.79 million for renovations to the inside of the future education center and Little Panthers Preschool. Dumler was pleased with the number of bids received on the project.
"We did have 56 bidders total on this one, I think," he said. "On Support Services we had about 80. So we still averaged three bidders per scope of work. We're pleased with the turnout."
With Monday's approval, renovations are scheduled to begin in early October and wrap up in June of 2024. The budget allows for $225,000 toward the purchase of playground equipment and $100,000 for a seal coat of the parking lot. The 8,000-square-foot secured playground area on the east side of the facility is large enough to accommodate all preschoolers in the building but will likely never have to. The playground area will feature a soft surface surrounded by turf for easy maintenance, and will also include several shade features.
"We started with just asking the playground companies for their ideas; what could work in this space?" said Schaefer Architecture Vice President Matt Hamm. "When we saw what they could do and the budget they put with it, that's how we set the allowance. What we'll do going forward is we'll get with the district and we'll nail down what exact play features do we want. Now we'll know what we can afford."
Other features of the building include 15 classrooms, each with shared restrooms. Each classroom will feature both a carpeted and tile area. A large common space will be available for general use. The preschool will be able to accommodate a total of 450 students. Given the industrial nature of the building design, classrooms will be color coded and include kid-friendly artwork, likely including current USD 428 elementary mascots.
In May, the board of education heard an estimated cost of $4.4 million for the project. Of the $4.78 million of the finalized budget, the district may use approximately $2.2 million in federal ESSER dollars on the preschool side. Less than $700,000 of district money will be used for the education center portion of the building.
USD 428 purchased the property for $1.3 million in September 2022, despite the property being valuated at more than $4 million.