The Daviess County Board of Education met in a special-called meeting Tuesday, Oct. 2 to vote in approval of bids for the new Apollo High School stadium and parking, as well as the Daviess County High School stadium renovations and parking.
The board voted in approval of hiring the lowest bidder, Danco Construction, to construct the stadium and complete renovations on both schools’ stadiums and parking lots. Mike Ranney, principal architect for RBS Design Group, said the project includes parking lot repair at DCHS and a new parking lot at AHS, something both schools desperately need.
“We received four bids [for the AHS construction]. It was very tight bidding,” said Ranney, who added that there was only a 4 percent difference between the lowest and highest bids received. For DCHS, two bids were received with only a 3 percent difference between highest and lowest. Danco Construction placed the lowest bid for both projects, which are estimated to total $10 million in construction costs.
Ranney said unanticipated issues regarding earthwork, paving and storm drainage have been brought to his attention involving costs for both projects, as well as a labor shortage.
“We’re finding out there’s a labor shortage affecting all projects across the state, so we’re not alone,” Ranney said.
Superintendent Matt Robbins added that Danco must demolish the current stadium at AHS to build the new student parking lot. Robbins said the first phase of construction at both locations will involve tearing down AHS’s old stadium and renovating DCHS’s parking lot, which is expected to cost $7 million.
Board member Dale Stewart acknowledged Robbins for his hard work with these renovations over the last several years.
“I want to commend Mr. Robbins because it’s been a 10-year project, and he’s been putting money back for it for years,” said Stewart.
