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Engineer to review wall design

2 min read

ROGERSVILLE – West Greene School Board voted at a special meeting Thursday to hire an engineer to review the design of the retaining wall that is being constructed as part of the elementary center project.

The board voted to hire Garvin, Boward, Beitko Engineering at a cost not to exceed $3,000 to review the design to ensure the wall is adequate for conditions at the site.

Superintendent Thelma Szarell would only say later that the district wants to make sure everything is done correctly. Board members in the past have mentioned the appearance of excessive water at the site.

The board approved the motion after meeting in executive session for more than two hours with representatives of the project architect, Hayes Design Group, and construction manager, URS.

The three-story elementary center is being constructed on the south end of the middle-senior high school. The board awarded contracts for the project in May totaling $10.9 million.

Work on the center began last summer.

Site preparation involved the excavation of a hillside and construction of a 761-foot-long retaining wall that at its highest point will reach 31 feet. The wall has not been completed.

Garvin, Boward, Beitko will review information, including soil studies, boring results and design calculation, that were completed for the design of the wall to ensure the design is adequate for the site.

Board President Regina MacDowell and Joe Coss voted against the motion to hire the firm. Tom Coss was absent.

Prior to the meeting, the board toured the new elementary center. Board president Regina MacDowell said she was pleased with the work. “It looks beautiful,” she said. It appears work on the project is moving ahead well, MacDowell said.

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