LTHS Misses Mark With Project Bids

LA GRANGE, IL – Bids for Lyons Township High School's projects last month came in way higher than its architect estimated.

This likely means the school board will have to scale back its plans.

The estimate for the projects was $24 million, but the lowest bid was about $30.5 million – 25 percent higher, according to the school.

The bids were opened a couple of weeks ago. At Monday's school board meeting, members discussed the problem, but made no decisions.

"I've been kind of sick about this over the last week and a half," architect Ed Wright of Itasca-based DLA Architects told the board. "I'm really trying to figure out where that came from."

He suggested it could have happened one of two ways – his firm either missed something with the scope of projects expanding or changes in the way contractors are pricing.

Over the last year, material prices have stabilized, but labor costs have gone up, Wright said.

The biggest unexpected increases in the bids were for mechanical and electrical work, which are in high demand, he said.

"We have seen it on other projects as well," Wright said. "It's not just here. It's pretty consistent across the board. We've seen 20 to 25 percent jumps from last year's numbers."

As evidence of the demand, he said, the high school drew six bidders when it would normally be 10.

"That speaks to the amount of work out there for a job this size," Wright said. "Everyone is so busy."

The bids ranged from $30.8 million to $34.4 million, with Waukegan-based Happ Builders as the lowest.

Nearly all the projects this year are at South Campus. The main ones are the addition of a new cafeteria and a renovation of the current cafeteria into the new music wing.

Next year, the school plans to modernize classrooms at North Campus.

Officials hope to have $40 million to $44 million available for the two years of projects.

The school is going $27.4 million in debt for the improvements. It plans to get the rest of the money by dipping into its bank accounts and shifting regular spending for building work.

Board members said they would revisit the issue at their March 18 meeting.