Robbinsville – An ongoing project project took a big step forward last week, when the Graham County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved new financing to build the new middle school wing.
During its Jan. 18 meeting, the board unanimously approved paying an additional $103,670.25 toward the project, after the total cost of $4,681,348. The cost includes the Sylva-based Western Builders’ base bid of $4,078,848 and the increased local match of $1,170,337.25.
The match increased when the bids solicited by Graham County Schools came in high.
Both of the bids the school district received came in high, but the district was able to work with Western Builders to value engineer some portions of the project, bringing the price down from the firm’s original $4,142,000 base bid.
County Manager Becky Garland said the board would put out a request for proposals for financing on the project, with plans to hold a public hearing for the project on Feb. 16.
“They’ve accepted the bids, the (school district) has, and from our side, I’ve just got to get the loan,” Garland said. “From the builder’s side, they’ve got to go ahead and get their notice to proceed. I don’t know if they’ve already done that or not, and also basically they’ve just got to start construction.”
She said the vote was a milestone for the project, calling the measure “huge.” The public hearing is an opportunity for the community at-large to learn more about the project and voice any concerns or opinions they may have.
“We’re going to say, ‘This is what the project is this and this is how much it’s going to cost. This is the county’s portion. This is what we can finance it for,’” Garland added.
She said she should also have more information from the banks that responded to the request for proposal by the date of the hearing.
“That way, we can line out what our options are, then make sure that we get the people of the county the best deal we can get them,” Garland said.