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East High kitchen plan up in the air

June 13, 2012|By Jonathan Kleppinger | jkleppinger@jessaminejournal.com

Complications of installation have left the fate of a commercial kitchen at East Jessamine High School unsure.

Culinary teacher Cary York obtained a grant to purchase $64,000 of basic equipment for a commercial kitchen, which is already in the district in storage. The plan was to install the machinery in the old art room, but the school district underestimated the cost of installing gas and drains in the room.

The cost to the board of installing the equipment would be $135,947, superintendent Lu Young said — more than twice the price of the items. Young told the Jessamine County Board of Education at Monday night’s special meeting that she was “waffling” on a recommendation.

“I would feel very comfortable if we were matching the grant equipment cost one-to-one, but the way it has played out with these unexpected costs, it’s going to cost you $2 for every $1 that you got in that equipment,” she said.

Board member JoAnn Rohrback offered several suggestions for other options, including installing the equipment closer to the kitchen at East High or at the new elementary school. Young said the board could also phase the project or wait a year to start it to spread out the costs.

The board decided to take no action on the bid and the schematic design for the project while officials evaluate other options.

In other business at the special meeting, the board:

• approved the bond sales for the Nicholasville Elementary School renovation.

• approved the low bid of $11,000 from Thelen Associates to perform special-inspection services at the Nicholasville Elementary renovation.

• approved the start and end times of 7:45 a.m. and 2:35 p.m. for the fourth and fifth grades at Nicholasville Elementary in the 2012-2013 school year. The primary grades, attending in a satellite location during the renovation, will start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2:20 p.m.; the new times for fourth and fifth grades was set after board members expressed concern about primary students waiting on buses for 30 minutes at the end of the school day.

• approved a $13,131 change order for the repair of the West High gym ceiling after the installer discovered a sealing that had to be removed before the new material was put in. The project’s initial cost was estimated at $70,880 in a document approved in April.

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