Elgin building site moved across the road

A change in location will help Elgin Local Schools spend less money on site preparation for a new
K-12 building an more on the actual building according to the construction manager. The Elgin
local schools board of education voted recently to purchase 35 acres across the road from the
current Elgin High School, which is where the new building was originally to be built. Steve Hoyt, project executive for construction manager Turner Construction, said the new site will mean less disruption during construction and less concern about the 100-year flood plain. "They get to put the money more into the building g than the site," Hoyt said. Elgin's voters passed a combined 7.49-mill , 28-year bond issue and a 1-mill continuous improvement levy on Nov.3. The bond issue covers the local share of a $35 million building project than includes $20 million from Ohio School Facilities Commission. The k-12 building will enable the district to close it elementary school in LaRue and Prospect and the junior high school in Green Camp and consolidate operations into one building. While the original plan was to build on the current high school campus, Elgin Treasurer Kim Reynolds said Turner Construction started looking at alternatives because of concerns about interrupting the students during construction. Hoyt said disruptions included parking and access to the high school, which would be limited during construction and could mean using the ball field The new site will mean less impact on students and staff.

Land already owned across the creek from the high school, on the side of the creek where the current Elgin administrative building is located, was lower than the high school land and would cost more to fill in to address concerns about the site being in the 100-year flood plain.

"It's a lot of money spent on dirt," said Hoyt.

He said he looked at flood plain maps and discovered some of the nearby farmland had higher elevation than the high school site.

Reynolds said the board voted May 24 to purchase 35 acres east of Keener Road for $200,000. She said building on that site, sold by Jane Dreyer, will enable $1.5 million more to be spent on the building rather than site preparation.

Hoyt said building on the high school site would have also meant relocating utilities.

"This way it's a great deal for the school district," he said.

The district is working with Turner Construction to manage the planning and construction of the building. Once construction starts, Turner will oversee construction and help make sure it stays on budget.

Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2011 and take about one-and-a-half years to complete.