Site Preparation Bids

The date has been set to open bids for the site cleaning, grading, excavation and fill for the new building. The sealed proposals will be opened on March 14, 2006 at 2:00 p.m. in the office of the superintendent. The work continues daily on the bid specifications for the building erection. The building bid is expected to be completed by mid May.

Anderson Engineering Consultants, Inc.

The team from Anderson Engineering Consultants, Inc. were on the job site today to do the preliminary work before the crew comes to do the core drills for the building site. Their objective today was to locate the exact locations and mark the spots for the drills. The core drills are expected to begin sometime next week. Pictured is Jeff Walker and Don Sylvia with Anderson Engineering, and Coy Dale and Warren Smith with the City of Melbourne.

Site Preparation Bids (Dirt Work)

I just got off the phone with Bob Bailey, our architect, and he expects to have the specifications on the dirt work ready to be released for bids within the next two weeks. This will just be the site preparation bid at this time. The bid on the building will be ready by his estimate about May 15. The actual dirt work should begin shortly after the district accepts a bid.

It is exciting to see the new building develop. I encourage all of you to stay updated by the use of this website. I will post the information about the progress as it develops. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call or stop by the superintendent's office. It is our desire for everyone in the communities to be informed and involved in the process.

Geotechnical Engineering Agreement

This week we entered into an agreement with Anderson Engineering Consultants. Inc (AECI) for a geotechnical engineering investigation and report. This investigation and report will be used to compile the specifications for the dirt work. An overview of the analysis is to do core drills at various depths on the project and in various locations to analyze the settlement of the soil, the bearing capacity, swell and shrinkage potential of the overburden soil, suitability of the on-site soil for use as fill, flexible and rigid pavement designs and other pertinent geotechnical design recommendations. The expected schedule for total completion of this phase of the project is estimated to be from four to six weeks with advanced design information forwarded as soon as it it available. In addition, I have been in communication with the architect and the design team almost daily and they are continuing the design and specifications on the building as well.

Storm Water Prevention Plan

The architect and engineer were on the building site yesterday working on the storm water prevention plan and watershed management. The storm water prevention plan is designed to control water runoff during the construction phase of the project. The watershed management study looks at water runoff after the project is completed. In additon, they were also locating the water lines in the area. Pictured is Bob Bailey, architect; Steve Yelenich, engineer; and Coy Dale and Warren Smith with the city water department.

Site Map

This picture is a site map of the new facility and grounds. If you will notice the existing ball field in the lower left of the picture, you can locate the position of the new building and grounds in relation to the existing ball field. If you would like to see the architect's plans, they are available in the superintendent's office for your inspection.

You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

Federal Aviation Administration Approval

We received notification today from the FAA that our building plan has been approved. The building plan is in compliance with all applicable safety regulations and standards. The architect and engineers didn't anticipate any problems with the application but it is a relief to see the approval letter in print.

Also, the picture shows the view from the front of the building back toward the community ballparks.

"Hurry up and wait"

"Hurry up and wait." I don't know who first said this or when, but I have decided in the last few months they must be talking about building a school. That seems to be all we do sometimes is hurry up and wait on someone to do something. They are still on the original time frame but I get impatient sometimes. I wish the architect, engineers, and other officials would act like this is the only job they have going, but unfortunately that is not the way it works. Sometimes the progress seems slow but keep checking back on the site from time to time and we will update you as the construction progresses.