The modernization of Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) is slightly behind schedule.
Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) announced on July 18 Alberta Infrastructure was given the go ahead to get started on the upgrades to the school.
The start of construction is slightly later than NLPS thought when they met with parents and students in May.
“Our original timeline was a little ahead,” noted Nicole Garner, communications officer for the school division. “We had thought we might get some of the beginning stages of the construction and mobilization done over the summer, or close to the start of the school year, but it looks like now it will be later in the fall.”
According to secretary-treasurer for NLPS, Paula Elock, the provincial election and the design coming in over budget postponed the process slightly.
“We experienced some delays there, so currently, we’re looking at the project request for qualifications and awarding will probably happen in October. Generally what we say is after it’s been awarded, the contractor needs about a month to get all of his subcontractors together and start on site,” she detailed.
The next steps will be for Alberta Infrastructure to issue a request for qualifications for businesses, who will be shortlisted based on experience. They will then be invited to respond to the request for proposals, which is expected to close early in the fall with contract awarding to follow.
While waiting for approval, NLPS has been hard at work preparing a space at the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre for the upcoming school year.
“We’ve been busy over the summer packing up the stuff in the school and moving it over to the C2. Our maintenance crew is working on turning the Agriplex into classrooms, and getting everything set up to get the students over there starting in September,” noted Garner.
In order to allow construction to move along more efficiently, NLPS decided to relocate their students until the end the first semester of the 2019/20 school year.
“There’s a lot less adjustments (the contractors) have to do to, let’s say put safety measures in place, because students are in the building,” Garner explained. “They’re not going to be worried about disrupting exams and things like that. They can move as quickly as they can move, but the exact timeline for how quickly they get enough work done so we can move back in while they finish things off is pretty much up in the air at least until the contract is awarded.”
During negotiations for use of the Agriplex, Elock said an extension was incorporated in anticipation of any delays.
The modernization, which was approved by the provincial government in March 2017, will include a NBA-sized gymnasium, new learning commons with a fireplace, a full-sized kitchen, among other upgrades.
Due to the scope of the project, Garner believes it’s “pretty much as close as you can get to having a new school without actually having a new school.”
“It’s not a modernization where it’s just one wing of the school. Every area of the school will be touched in some way,” she continued.
Garner and Elock agreed moving forward with the project is exciting for everyone involved.
“We’re really appreciative of the patience that parents and students have as we move forward with this. We’re looking forward to seeing the students in September at the Centennial Centre, and getting this project underway,” expressed Garner.
