Unified School District 410 Board of Education amended its contract Monday evening with its contractor, Coonrod and Associates, for the USD 410/Tabor College Athletic Improvement Project.
The board approved the sum of $3,619,489 to be paid equally by USD 410 and Tabor.
Superintendent Doug Huxman said the board wanted to get the bulk of costs approved so construction could move ahead with the project.
Monday?s special meeting was called because contractor bids for the project originally submitted Feb. 5 came in over budget at $3,777,361.
At Monday?s meeting, architect David Riffel with Howard & Helmer reviewed bid summaries and presented a potential saving of $171,460.
Those savings were proposed after representatives from the district and the college had met with the architects and contractors to negotiate changes to the project in order to meet budget.
Among the adjustments were changes in parking lot lighting, road surfacing, pavers under the grandstand and grandstand seating.
?The primary driver was we did not want to make changes (that affected student athletes),? said Tabor President Jules Glanzer. ?We looked more to cutting fan-related areas.?
Glanzer and Kirby Fadenrecht, Tabor?s vice president of finance, also attended Monday?s meeting.
In response to questions from the board members, Riffel, Huxman, Glanzer and Max Heinrichs explained the rationale for some of the changes.
Following the vote, board president Rod Koons commended the collaborative efforts by the college, Howard & Helmer and Coonrod and Associates.
?It?s been a project designed for the students of the college and the kids of the school district,? Koons said.
Coonrod contractor Ray Penner said a pre-construction meeting is scheduled for Friday. Initial stages of the project will start next week, he said.
