by Larry Chowning –
The Middlesex County School Board learned at its regular monthly meeting on December 9 that a proposed new bus garage may cost considerably more than the $500,000 originally estimated and set aside in the Capital Improvement Fund by county supervisors.
The “concept cost estimate” by Bay Design Group of Urbanna estimated the total cost of the project could run from between $936,000 to $1,240,000.
For several years, county supervisors and school board members have discussed whether to build a bus garage on county-owned property at Cooks Corner near the Middlesex Animal Shelter and combine school and county maintenance programs.
The school system has had a bus shop at Cooks Corner for years and used it solely for school vehicle maintenance. As part of the Cooks Corner Revitalization Project, the old bus garage is scheduled to be torn down.
The school board recently decided to build a garage solely for school vehicles on land at Middlesex Elementary School (MES) near the solar farm behind the school at Locust Hill.
The estimate by Bay Design Group states that site development for a bus garage at MES will cost between $535,000 and $605,000; a small three-bay building, 60 by 80 feet, will cost $336,000; and a large three-bay building, 80 by 100 feet, will cost $560,000.
Site design plan costs, including surveying and civil engineering, will be 6% of the total cost—estimated to be between $30,000 to $36,000. Geotechnical evaluation will cost between $8,000 and $9,000, and “site construction oversight” between $27,000 and $30,000.
The school board approved a 2020 capital improvements plan project submission form requesting $936,000 for the project to be sent to the county board of supervisors. The submission application states that the anticipated start date of the school bus garage will be in the spring of 2021 and anticipated completion date in October of 2021.
The increase in funding for the school bus garage has to be approved by the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors. The project has not been bid. A competitive bidding process could bring the total cost down, noted Pinetop District school board member Garland Harrow.
The next school board meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 13, at the Historic Middlesex Courthouse in Saluda.
