Bayfield School District closed on its sale of $28.7 million worth of bonds on Dec. 15, and proceeds have been deposited in Bayfield’s two banks, District Finance Director Amy Lyons told the Pine River Times.
“We wanted to get it done before the Federal Reserve increased interest rates,” she said, and before a lot of other school bonds came on the market.
The bonds, with an average interest rate of 3.75 percent, are payable over 25 years, Lyons said.
District officials have had two full-day meetings since the Nov. 8 election with the general contractor, the architect, engineers, and the district’s owner’s representative, Marty Zwisler, Lyons said.
“We hope to get started on the new school (just south of the mid school, for grades 3-5) this spring and the elementary school once school gets out.”
“Troy (Superintendent Troy Zabel) and I are meeting with Marty every week,” she said, adding that Zabel is there pretty much full time, she said. The real push will be the renovation at BES in summer 2018.
Renovation of the BES administrative offices will happen in summer 2017 and continue into the 2017-18 school year, Lyons said.
“There will probably be a modular for administration, and the new administration section ready for January 2018.”
The new administrative offices will be an addition just west of the current offices and what is now the school’s front entrance. The addition will include a new south-facing entry and increased security features.
The total cost for both schools and some work at the district administration offices is $37.2 million. A Colorado Department of Education BEST grant will cover 25 percent of that, bringing the bond issue down to the $28.7 million.
In his report to the school board on Dec. 14, Zwisler said, “Designs are progressing very quickly. We had an all-day work session on Nov. 30 with our architect, engineers and contractor, and have had numerous meetings and other communications with district staff for input on designs as they evolve.”
He continued: “Design development drawings are scheduled to be completed in early January. FCI (the general contractor) will then work up estimates that should give us a pretty good indication of what these designs would cost to build.
“We have another workshop scheduled for Jan. 18 to review the estimates, see how they align with our budgets, and brainstorm on the most appropriate ways to make design adjustments where necessary.”
On Dec. 14, the board certified district mill levies for property taxes payable in 2017. Lyons said they reflect a 21 percent decrease in the district’s assessed valuation.
The district total mill levy was certified at 32.478, including 14.845 for bond repayment, 8.229 for general operations, and 9.199 for previous voter-approved mill levy overrides for operations.
