Secured entrances work inches forward

Nodaway Valley is taking steps to make sure its school buildings are even more safe.

The school board, during a meeting Wednesday, April 16, at the middle school media center in Fontanelle, approved bids for secured entrances projects at all three school buildings. The work will commence the day after Memorial Day, beginning at the middle school, followed by the high school and elementary school.

Keystone received the general trades portion of the projects, for a sum of $213,000 with a $9,700 change allowance, as the low bidder between two received.

“The middle school is the most extensive with knocking a hole in the wall and redoing how the office layout is. We’ll go most extensive to least extensive,” NV Superintendent Paul Croghan said. “You did have your public hearing back in December, so [doors and windows] are being ordered and hopefully those things can get started right after school.”

Walsh Door and Security received the bid for the doors and security portion of the project while Red Oak Glass received the bid for the glass that is needed.

The district’s construction management firm Boyd Jones was available to answer questions the board had about the project.

Auditorium lighting

Gopher Stage Lighting of West St. Paul, Minnesota, has begun legwork for an already-approved auditorium lighting replacement project that will continue into the spring and summer.

Several LED house lights have been added to the project because the existing amount of lighting was deemed inadequate. Croghan said the lights are probably original to the 1992 part of the high school. All told, this results in the cost of the project increasing by $36,399.32.