Allen Community College trustees will wait a few more days to decide who to hire to build a new student housing complex.
Trustees on Thursday agreed to wait until Tuesday in order to get clarification on a cost breakdown of what would be the winning bid from Decker Construction, and a clarification on the sixplex’s designs.
The delay was sparked in part by concerns voiced by Trustee Jim Talkington, who said a local electrician, Gary Hoffmeier, noted issues with the project.
Hoffmeier told the Register Friday that his concerns weren’t about the facility’s design, but rather with plans for a potential alternate project regarding the building’s security camera system.
Hoffmeier submitted a bid for the camera system, but bids for the alternate project were not discussed at Thursday’s meeting.
Hoffmeier said he considered the building’s design, “a good set of plans.”
Trustee Harvey Rogers, meanwhile, said he preferred to see a cost breakdown of Decker Construction’s potential winning bid and a copy of the equipment specifications to ensure any subsequent repairs or upgrades can be done efficiently.
Decker’s bid to construct the three-story facility on White Boulevard came in at $759,000, the lowest of three received.
Trustees, who already planned to meet Tuesday for a strategic planning session, will follow the session with an adjourned meeting to once again take up the sixplex project. The adjourned meeting will start at 9:30 p.m. The public is invited.
The college’s aim is to have construction on the sixplex begin in April so it can be completed by the time the fall semester begins in August.
The sixplex will house 24 students.
TRUSTEES WERE told about the Feb. 28 tornado that devastated much of Harveyville in northeast Kansas.
Harveyville is less than 10 miles to the west of Burlingame, noted Bob Reavis, dean of the Burlingame campus.
A handful of Harveyville residents attend classes in Burlingame, Reavis said. None were injured in the tornado, but a handful had relatives injured or had their homes damaged.
In response, the college hosted a clothing drive in which several boxes and bags of new or good quality used clothing were donated to the tornado victims.
