The Haywood County Board of Education held a called board meeting at Anderson Early Childhood Center on Tuesday, November 27.

 

There was one item on the agenda – the bids on the Tornado Safe Space that is to be built at Haywood Elementary. Vincent Harvell informed the board members that the bids on the Tornado Safe Space had come in over budget and that they should look for cost savings.

 

The grant for the safe space construction is $1,444,335, but the initial bid estimate – $1,615,739. Mr. Harvell said the advice from Henson Construction Company is to reject the bids, and go back to the drawing board, basically, by reducing the bid costs and taking it back to the architect for additional savings. Henson’s representative said they can also request additional grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the state agency (TEMA).

 

The County Commission agreed to reject the bids and start the process over again. Mr. Harvell said that starting over will cause about a seven-week delay in building the safe space. The county has been performing in-kind service, and will continue with their work. He also reported that the changes will cause no impact on the integrity of the building; the changes will be mostly cosmetic. He said Lauderdale County is going through the same process.

 

Mr. Harvell requested approval from board members to rebid the project. Board members approved his request unanimously.