POULSBO — Air conditioning. A track and field. Backstops for baseball and fastpitch. Tennis courts.
Just a few of the options the North Kitsap School Board faced Thursday night in balancing a tight Kingston High School budget. Financial realities on the project meant some would be kept in the designing phase and some would have to be cut to meet the $24.5 million maximum construction cost.
Ultimately, the board looked to tighten its financial belt, opting to save as much money as possible for later in the hopes that sufficient funds could become available to add artificial turf to the facility’s main field and possibly tennis courts on the site.
That option came at a cost of canning a primary air conditioning system and metal siding on the school, which will be replaced by a constant air volume (CAV) system and fiber cement siding.
“We’re not trying to leave money on the table,” said Don Brubeck of Bassetti Architects, the firm designing the school. “But we didn’t want to go over the (Maximum Allowable Construction Cost).”
Board member Dan Delaney said he was concerned that if air conditioning was cut from the budget, year-round school options would be limited by warm weather.
“I worry that if we decide we really need air conditioning, maybe five years from now, how much will it cost (to add it then)?” Delaney questioned.
In all of the options, a cinder track — similar to the ones at Poulsbo and Kingston junior high schools — and baseball and fastpitch backstops were added back into the plan.
The board was then presented two options to get the KHS budget back within its $24.5 million allowable construction cost. “Option A” would take out air conditioning with the possibility to add it later and replace the high school’s metal siding with fiber cement siding. The cost savings would be $336,000.
“Option “B” would completely eliminate traditional air conditioning, other than in mandatory areas, without any plan to install it later. “B” also replaces ceramic tile on the exterior building with metal siding, at a total cost savings of $315,000.
Instead of choosing one or the other, the board opted to cut both the A/C and the metal siding and create two entirely new options — “C” and “D.” By taking out air conditioning, a CAV system would be used to keep the school cool.
Both of the new options created a cost savings of $556,000 but “C” included adding four tennis courts at a cost of $166,000 and leaving a cushion of $83,000. “Option D” cut out the tennis courts and left $249,000 for the board to consider spending later.
At that point, the discussion came down to what would get more use at the Kingston school — tennis courts or a turf field.
“We’re in a position of having a trade off,” board member Dick Endresen said. “But I think a turf field would get more use than tennis courts.”
After a similar opinion was shared by NKHS Athletic Director Al Gleich, most on the board agreed to keep the quarter million for later, in the hopes that $430,000 in savings — the cost to install and maintain the turf — could eventually be reached to install a turf field at the new school.
That plan was approved Thursday night by a 5-0 board vote, giving North Kitsap School District the go-ahead in the bidding process, set to begin in early 2005.
