Post by refbasics on Mar 25, 2008 1:20:56 GMT -6
District 204 forges ahead on Metea
School board authorizes steel bids contingent upon environmental reports
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 3/25/2008 12:02 AM
www.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=159866
Indian Prairie Unit District 204 continues to move forward with plans for Metea Valley High School as it waits for permission to release environmental reports on the school site.
The board approved $9 million in steel bids Monday for the high school.
The district, which includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, plans to build its third high school on 87 acres off Eola Road south of Diehl Road near Aurora. Midwest Generation and St. John AME Church currently own the site and are preparing to sell it to the district.
Board President Mark Metzger said awarding the bids now gives the contractors time to prepare insurance, staff and equipment.
"This allows them to start working on all the things that require lead time and line things up so they're prepared to start," Metzger said after the meeting.
The bids are not without strings attached. They are contingent upon taking title of the property, holding a special board meeting to discuss environmental reports regarding the site and annexation of the property to Aurora.
The board approved the annexation agreement Monday. The Aurora City Council is expected to consider that agreement when it meets tonight.
There is still no firm date for releasing the environmental reports, which contain the findings of tests for ground contaminants. The district is waiting for Midwest Generation to sign off on the reports.
However, Metzger said he has a meeting today that could shed light on when they will be made public. He dismissed the notion that the delay means bad news.
"I am quite certain that those that have a negative opinion of the situation are spinning this with much glee," he said.
Earlier this month, environmental attorney Shawn Collins released a position paper listing concerns such as a former power plant on the site and power lines and gas pipelines that run through part of the property.
Collins is representing a grass-roots organization, Neighborhood Schools for Our Children, in a lawsuit trying to force the district to purchase the Brach-Brodie land it initially intended to buy at 75th Street and Commons Drive near Aurora.
District 204 backed away from that plan after a jury set the price of the property at $31 million -- $17 million more than it had anticipated.
The district does not yet have an exact date for closing on the Eola site.
"I hate to sound vague but it'll close when it's ready to close and it's not ready to close yet," Metzger said.
The board has already approved contracts for grading, excavation, precast walls and roof and materials testing, which all have the same contingencies as the steel bids.
Changing sites and school boundaries has caused a firestorm of feedback on Internet blogs, but no residents made public comments at Monday's meeting. The board also said little about Metea during open session.
The 3,000-student school is scheduled to open in 2009.
School board authorizes steel bids contingent upon environmental reports
By Melissa Jenco | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 3/25/2008 12:02 AM
www.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=159866
Indian Prairie Unit District 204 continues to move forward with plans for Metea Valley High School as it waits for permission to release environmental reports on the school site.
The board approved $9 million in steel bids Monday for the high school.
The district, which includes portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield, plans to build its third high school on 87 acres off Eola Road south of Diehl Road near Aurora. Midwest Generation and St. John AME Church currently own the site and are preparing to sell it to the district.
Board President Mark Metzger said awarding the bids now gives the contractors time to prepare insurance, staff and equipment.
"This allows them to start working on all the things that require lead time and line things up so they're prepared to start," Metzger said after the meeting.
The bids are not without strings attached. They are contingent upon taking title of the property, holding a special board meeting to discuss environmental reports regarding the site and annexation of the property to Aurora.
The board approved the annexation agreement Monday. The Aurora City Council is expected to consider that agreement when it meets tonight.
There is still no firm date for releasing the environmental reports, which contain the findings of tests for ground contaminants. The district is waiting for Midwest Generation to sign off on the reports.
However, Metzger said he has a meeting today that could shed light on when they will be made public. He dismissed the notion that the delay means bad news.
"I am quite certain that those that have a negative opinion of the situation are spinning this with much glee," he said.
Earlier this month, environmental attorney Shawn Collins released a position paper listing concerns such as a former power plant on the site and power lines and gas pipelines that run through part of the property.
Collins is representing a grass-roots organization, Neighborhood Schools for Our Children, in a lawsuit trying to force the district to purchase the Brach-Brodie land it initially intended to buy at 75th Street and Commons Drive near Aurora.
District 204 backed away from that plan after a jury set the price of the property at $31 million -- $17 million more than it had anticipated.
The district does not yet have an exact date for closing on the Eola site.
"I hate to sound vague but it'll close when it's ready to close and it's not ready to close yet," Metzger said.
The board has already approved contracts for grading, excavation, precast walls and roof and materials testing, which all have the same contingencies as the steel bids.
Changing sites and school boundaries has caused a firestorm of feedback on Internet blogs, but no residents made public comments at Monday's meeting. The board also said little about Metea during open session.
The 3,000-student school is scheduled to open in 2009.