September 18, 2013 at 5:15 p.m.
School board approves remodeling plan for on-site clinic
Miron Construction selected as 'construction advisor' to complete $98,000 project
School board approves remodeling plan for on-site clinic
The clinic, which will be run by Aspirus Clinics, was approved last month and will give employees, their spouses, and their dependents an additional option for health care.
By providing access to an on-site clinic, the district hopes it will cut down on substitute teacher costs that occur when employees have to be absent to go to the doctor as well as insurance costs related to employees visiting the walk-in clinic or emergency room for their health-care needs.
The idea was broached after the district was able to negotiate a 6.36 percent decrease in the cost of its insurance plan for the 2013-'14 school year. That decrease will save the district approximately $900,000. The administration proposed using $51,000 of that money to open the clinic which would have an Aspirus nurse practitioner available for 12 hours a week.
After receiving board approval Monday, an additional $98,000 from those savings will be used to remodel part of the high school so that the clinic has the space it needs.
"We already approved having Aspirus be our servicing company for having an on-site (clinic), so the next step is to have a place to put them. The proposal is to have them be placed in a remodeled area over on the northwest corner of the building where there's a shipping department that's not fully utilized," board member David Holperin explained.
"We have to make it into the space that they're looking for, but then they're going to bring in all of the medical stuff. We don't have to furnish it or do anything other than make the space work," Superintendent Kelli Jacobi added.
"From the outside, it's door number seven. It'll be a completely separate entrance, totally private. People coming to the clinic won't have to walk through offices - the high school office or the administrative offices. It was important to us that it be completely private."
To complete the remodeling work, Aspirus sent the district three separate cost estimates - $178,397, $150,029 and $133,529. The highest estimate included some signage with each subsequent estimate decreasing the amount of signage. The district contacted Miron Construction for an estimate, as well. Miron came in with an estimate of $98,000 that included everything that the lowest Aspirus estimate included. Miron is proposing that the work will take eight to 10 weeks to complete.
"Several proposals came to Aspirus and a proposal was sought after from Miron Construction who's done most of the rest of the work for our buildings. So what we're proposing is that since Miron came in at the low cost, that they act as a general construction advisor and then they'll seek out sub-contracts and bid this out," Holperin said.
"We'd like to see this completed by Jan. 1."
When asked why bids weren't sent out to other construction companies, board president Ron Counter said Miron has a long history of working with the district as its construction manager.
"The bids will be put out by Miron as our construction manager. Miron's been our construction manager for years," he said.
"Our administration will review all of the proposals and bids as they come in," Holperin added.
The vote to approve Miron as construction manager and move forward on the proposed remodeling plans passed unanimously with board members Merlin Van Buren, Ray Burgan, and Mike Roberts absent.
"As a district, we're saving a great deal on our insurance premiums - certainly this year it was a very large sum - and we expect to have continued savings going forward, so this particular project can easily be justified on a cost-analysis basis," Holperin said.
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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