Written by Pat Culverhouse
Change orders totaling just over $88,000 on two construction projects received approval Monday by the Webster Parish School Board.
One of those change orders sought $41,589.24 for the multipurpose building at Minden High School (above), a project which has been ongoing for more than five and a half years.
“It is with great joy that I present what we’re calling the final change order for the Minden High School multipurpose project,” architect Perry Watson of Yeager Watson & Assoc. told board members.
Watson said the change order covered what he called “odds and ends” which occur on many projects, and told board members “…we are right at the cusp of substantial completion on the project; that should happen within the next one to two weeks.”
Only items on a state fire marshal’s list need to be completed, Watson said.
ELA Group, Inc. was awarded a $9.908 million contract on the multipurpose building in January, 2021. Over the years, change orders including the one approved Monday have upped the total contract sum to $10,727,520.
A second change order of $46,446.49 covers the cost to demolish an existing building (below) and rework the right field section of what will be the new Griffith Park baseball field.
Watson told board members an old building adjacent to the corner of the right field fence area was so close that an irregular alignment to that section had resulted.
“The city agreed to let the board have that building and when it’s torn down we can make the field uniform left to right,” he explained.
Watson said the contractor is awaiting approval of the change order to continue work at the field. D&L of Ouachita, Inc. was awarded a $3.444 million dollar contract for demolition, additions and alterations at the stadium. Completion is anticipated in mid-2027.
