A certificate of partial substantial completion has been given for the addition at Bobby Ray Elementary School and a certificate of occupancy has been given for the project at Warren County High School from the state fire marshal.
“We have hit a monument there,” said architect Derrick Clemow of the project at Bobby Ray Elementary during Thursday night’s meeting of the Warren County Board of Education. “We have completed the first part of the project. The fire marshal has approved a partial substantial completion for the lobby space. We’ve generated a punch list and most of those items have been completely. If you go there, it definitely looks finished. The lobby looks cool.”
The addition is the new lobby for the existing gymnasium. It includes new bathrooms, concession area and storage.
Clemow presented Director of Schools Bobby Cox the partial substantial completion certificate for signature.
“If you haven’t been over there, Bobby Ray’s initials are in the floor,” said Cox. “It looks 3D, which is how it looks to me. It really looks nice.”
The work at Bobby Ray School is in two phases. Phase two, which is the gymnasium, will not be complete until later in the year when the floor is replaced.
Warren County High School’s weight room addition and fieldhouse project is almost complete. The weight room equipment has been installed, but the fieldhouse has hit a snag with one of the large garage-style doors.
“Most of the work is done,” said Clemow. “There are a few punch list items listed and one big item that has been a bug-a-boo. I have to belly up to the bar and give you the report. There is a major overhead door that has a temporary wood enclosure in it. The door that was specified was an upward coiling door like the one on the other end of the building. When we got to the point of installing that, someone recognized it couldn’t open because it was going to hit the exhaust fan.”
The only option available was to purchase a different upward coiling door that would fit. Delivery is expected this week. Once that door is installed, the state fire marshal will sign off on a certificate of occupancy, said Clemow.
On the Monday following the meeting, Cox reported that the fire marshal had provided him with a temporary 30-day certificate of occupation, meaning the fieldhouse and weight room are open for business.
“He (the state fire marshal) didn’t want to hold us up because of one door,” said Cox.
Weather has been an issue at Irving College.
“The brick is almost complete now, but it has been a struggle to find days when we can do masonry work on the exterior. If you walk into the gymnasium, the right hand side is nearly finished because they were able to get the masonry work on the outside up before the weather pattern hit, but on the other side of the gymnasium the wall is wet. We’ve been fighting that side, which would be the south side of the building.”
Despite the exterior masonry issue, work inside is progressing. All the HVAC has been placed, said Clemow, as well as the grid for the ceiling, some permanent lighting, and some of the cabinets to hold trophies.
Work is behind schedule but an effort will be made to catch up when school is out for summer.
“Any material that has had moisture sensitively to it, we have been unable to do but they have been able to progress,” said Clemow. “We’re looking ahead to when the school closes for summer. We’ll have a mass effort to get renovations done. All that’s being organized. In the meantime, work is progressing.”
Members of the School Board met at Warren County High School for their monthly session. After receiving an update, members took a tour of the new weight room and fieldhouse.