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MINUTES The O & M Committee met on Monday, 23 May 2011, at 5:30 p.m. in the Superintendent’s Office located in The Holman Center for Career and Technical Education, Pekin Community High School, City of Pekin, County of Tazewell. Chairperson Larry Howard called the meeting to order at 5:27 p.m. Also present were Board President Joe Alesandrini, Board Vice President Paul O’Neal, Board Member Carl Johnson, Superintendent Paula Davis, Buildings and Grounds Director Tim Bonnette, and Recording Secretary Rick White. COMMUNICATIONS, PUBLIC COMMENTS, & PARTICIPATION None. BIDS ON SUMMER PROJECTS REPAIR OF B BUILDING FOUNDATION WALL Superintendent Davis referred the committee to page 3 of agenda support materials provided for this meeting, noting that Bishop Brothers, Inc. submitted a much lower bid that the other two contractors. District Architect Lee Gerrietts contacted the company and was informed that subcontractor Knapp Concrete had reviewed their numbers and had found discrepancies in their calculations. William Bishop, president of Bishop Brothers, requested permission to withdraw his firm’s bid. Mrs. Davis speculated that Knapp had not taken into account OSHA standards. Buildings and Grounds Director Bonnette agreed, adding that they had miscalculated the depth of the trenching that is required for this project. Of the two bids left, Mrs. Davis noted that Venovich Construction Company of Tremont submitted the lower and recommended that it be approved. REPLACEMENT OF THEATRE DIMMER PANEL Superintendent Davis reported that, of three bids received for replacement of the Theatre dimmer panel, Central Illinois Electrical Services, LLC. of Bartonville submitted the lowest overall which includes both the base and alternate A1 figures. Mr. Bonnette explained that the dimmer panel is the large electrical box, about eight feet wide, located in the cage in the back corner of the stage. It is the main lighting operations panel for the Theatre into which over 100 cables feed. The current model, added Mrs. Davis, is equipment original to the building and some of the cables are observably cracked and frayed and dangerous due to arcing. The situation poses a definite fire hazard. She recommended the CIES bid, both base and alternate components, for approval. The firm has done good work for the District on other occasions. The base bid for the panel itself comes under life health safety and the alternate includes equipment to operate the panel, such as the control console, monitors, and so forth. BID FOR TRACTOR FOR BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS Only one bid—from Bobcat of Peoria, Inc.—was received for this project, Mrs. Davis informed the committee, even though it was listed in the newspaper as required, added Mr. Bonnette. Bid specifications were written with the counsel of the Pekin Park District which is satisfied with similar equipment it recently purchased. Pekin High is looking for a small, compact tractor and other brands considered by the Park District in its search, such as Case, Caterpillar, and John Deere, were between $10,000 and $15,000 higher in price and could not compete with Bobcat. O & M Committee Meeting Minutes Mr. Bonnette has visited with Park District personnel and he is confident that this tractor will meet the District’s needs. Due to intergovernmental cooperation between Pekin High and the Park District, said Mrs. Davis, we will have access to some of the attachments for the tractor that the Park has already acquired, such as an extra bucket, which will save us money. Buildings and Grounds staff will be trained by Bobcat in its operation. The equipment we currently have is approximately 30 years old and has been babied along for some time. Its dead mate was disposed of some time ago. Due to the size of our grounds, it will be used virtually every day to keep up with mowing demands. The actual mower will be pulled behind the tractor as an attachment which will be purchased out of next year’s budget funds. The Park District will continue to help us out until the new equipment, both tractor and mowing attachment, arrives about five weeks after ordering, but we are already doing trim work with smaller machines. We have been assured that Bobcat has plenty of the items we’ll be purchasing in stock. OTHER BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS SUMMER STAFF Mrs. Davis reported that a list of staff and student workers for the summer has been completed. We will not be using as many students this summer as in the past. Four of the seven staff members to be hired will supervise eight students who have been vetted and found to have good attendance, a good work ethic, and a good behavioral record at Pekin High. We have had problems with some students who were not committed to their job and too much time has been spent disciplining student workers in summers past. Mrs. Davis herself was involved with one case last year. The ratio of two students to each supervisor is designed to increase productivity; supervisors work alongside their charges. An attempt was made to secure students in need of financial assistance who would appreciate this employment opportunity. The request for approval of summer workers in tonight’s regular Board agenda includes an $11.00 per hour wage for supervisors and minimum wage of $8.25 per hour for student workers. Both groups will be employed from 02 June through 17 August 2011 and it is likely, observed Mrs. Davis, that they’ll be working right up to the start of school on August 18th. SUMMER PROJECTS SCHEDULE The amount of special projects slated for this summer poses a real challenge regarding scheduling to guarantee completion in time for the start of next school year, stressed Superintendent Davis. Foundation work on B/C Building, replacement of exterior wall panels in F and G Buildings and the Theatre dimmer panel, remodeling of the restroom outside Central Office, and the completion of some 50 facility audit requests for repairs from staff around the entire facility must all be undertaken as we also complete the usual summer cleaning, painting, floor maintenance, and other work. A variety of programs, including Summer School and volleyball, basketball, pompon, and cheerleading camps must also be completed before work can begin in some areas of the building. District 108 is using both gymnasiums for its eighth-grade recognition ceremonies for Edison and Broadmoor Junior Highs on 03 June. The Marigold Pageant is scheduled to use the Theatre in mid-August so the dimmer panel will have to be installed by then. To accommodate wall panel replacement in G Building, science labs will have to be broken down and fragile equipment packed up and moved. All of these factors add to the huge challenge of preparing facilities in time for the new school year. It will be a daunting task even if all goes according to plan, but careful preparations have been made by Mr. Bonnette. As a safety precaution, staff is being asked to turn in keys when they check out at the end of the year. It is very difficult to monitor safety when those with keys can come and go at any time of day or night. Project materials and equipment, along with classroom furniture, will be in halls and other areas where they can pose a potential for injury. The parking lot adjacent to Hawkins Gym and the B/C Building will be blocked off to prevent parents from dropping off summer camp participants; they’ll be required to use the west pillar entrance. EXCESS DISTRICT EQUIPMENT It is time to dispose of a variety of excess equipment, noted Mrs. Davis. The Music Program wants to rid itself of items ranging from Noteables costumes to a Chinese dragon to storage carts. The CTE Department has auto mechanics equipment and an old tractor, among other things, for disposal. In lieu of an auction, a garage sale-type of event such as was held last time is currently being considered with items priced very reasonably. We don’t have tons of stuff to move out, Mrs. Davis said, but it’s best to keep the amount of obsolete equipment under control to minimize storage requirements. It is hoped computer equipment can be sold soon as well. BUILDING TRADES HOUSE Mrs. Davis enthusiastically reported that the Building Trades house in Deerfield Estates has been sold and the money will go back into this year’s budget. The buyer, the new Director of Streets for Pekin, is very enthusiastic about the property. Mrs. Davis reminded committee members that the District has already purchased a lot for next year’s construction. Although Building Trades teacher Mark Sanders will be undergoing surgery this summer, he has indicated he is planning to return to the program next school year. The lots for both this year’s and next year’s houses were purchased from the David and Denise Stiffler who did a good job preparing them for sale. The Deerfield Estates Subdivision seems to have a promising future in light of the new Park District sports complex going up in the vacinity. COMMENCEMENT 2011 Despite threatening weather, this year’s commencement ceremony went well. Mr. Bonnette, Mrs. Davis, and Assistant Superintendent Ruwe assisted in drying chairs for participants prior to the 2:00 p.m. start time. A note was made that it was difficult for Board members to hear some of the speeches, perhaps because there was no speaker placed behind the bank of chairs where they were sitting. One or two complaints about the condition of Stadium restrooms were also received. Mr. Howard later thanked Mr. Bonnette for his work in making this year’s commencement a success. PRESS BOX REGULATIONS Due to a recent change in regulations, press boxes under 900 square feet, which includes ours at the Stadium, do not fall under guidelines requiring, among other things, the installation of an elevator if and when the facility undergoes structural changes, reported Mrs. Davis and President Alesandrini. CUTTING BOARD Superintendent Davis showed committee members a cutting board received from Mrs. Laurie Barra, new Mayor of Pekin. She read the explanatory note attached to the back which indicated that the block had been made by retired Buildings and Grounds Director James Cadigan from the maple top of an old physics lab bench which had been installed in 1930. Mrs. Davis proffered the item to President Alesandrini as a potential rest on which to bang his gavel in the Board Room. ADJOURNMENT
O & M Committee Meeting Minutes The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m. by Chairperson Howard.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rick White, Recording Secretary
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