Page 2 Leader News August 16, 2012

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

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Offi cials say space not an issue; move won’t delay elementary remodel

Construction on the new Lytle Junior High campus has experienced unforeseen delays. (Photo by

Andrew Tolan)

onstrate that they have made a

great choice in supporting our

vision for the growth of Lytle

ISD.”

According to Construction

Manager Jeff Smith, Summit’s

fi nancial issues didn’t funnel

down to Lytle until three weeks

ago.

Th e timeline for students

moving in to the new junior

high is contingent upon fi nan-

cial issues being resolved, a reso-

lution which may be imminent

but, as of Tuesday, has not come

to fruition.

As a result, the construc-

tion manager has said there is

a chance it could take slightly

longer than two weeks for the

construction project to be com-

pleted and students to move into

their 21st century junior high.

Smith provided a rundown

of the ongoing situation aff ect-

ing Summit Builders, the gen-

eral contractor for Lytle ISD.

The bonding company

for Summit Builders, Liberty

Mutual, stepped in on the

NEISD construction jobs. Once

the fi nancial institution stepped

in, they took over fi nancial por-

tions of operations, not the con-

struction part, which Summit is

still actively engaged in on all of

their projects.

Once the bonding company

stepped in, the fi rst thing they

did is conduct an audit of every

project Summit is doing to make

sure fi nances are kosher – a pro-

cess which takes time and a vac-

uum Lytle ISD is caught in.

Th e bottom line: funds aren’t

being released and work isn’t

being completed.

While the district is antici-

pating funds to be released any

day now, it was noted by Ewing

that a concrete answer has been

hard to come by.

To make matters more com-

plicated, Smith said, Summit is

in the midst of being acquired

by another global construction

company called DCK.

Smith has been told that once

the bonding company steps in,

especially as far along as they

are with the Lytle JH project,

that guarantees everyone will be

paid, it just delays when they

will be paid.

Smith added that DCK would

not purchase Summit if Summit,

as a whole, was not regarded a

good company.

Smith stated that the bond-

ing company has enlisted the

services of an outside consultant

to review all the projects and

that consultant’s job is to give

the bonding company a priority

list of who needs to be paid fi rst

and district offi cials have been

informed that Lytle ISD is the

top priority.

Th ere are primarily two sub-

contractors needed to complete

masonry and glasswork on the

building.

Construction is still ongo-

ing at the junior high campus

with respect to the installation

of the smartLab, elevators and

bathroom partitions, as well as

completing painting, electrical

work, and fl oor fi nishing.

At this juncture, there are

simply a few critical items hold-

ing up the process.

Once fi nances are released,

glasswork and masonry will not

take long to complete.

Th e elementary campus is

currently being re-energized to

accommodate the junior high

class.

District offi cials said the pro-

cess is not a whole lot diff er-

ent than what would have been

done to start the school year

normally.

Space is not expected to be

an issue, with fewer students at

the junior high level.

Th e move will not delay the

elementary remodel, with archi-

tects still working on the design

plans for the renovation project.

Junior high students will be

bused to the new junior high

gymnasium as necessary; the

junior high gymnasium is still

expected to be open come the

fi rst day of school.

Public Information Offi cer

Derrick Adams said the district

would hold a grand opening

ceremony once the junior high

campus is completed.

Smith said if the district had

not run in to this problem three

weeks ago, the junior high would

have been completed by the fi rst

day of school.

District offi cials wanted to

reassure parents that the junior

high campus will still be a fan-

tastic facility and a model of

what a modern school can be.

A date for the junior high

meet the teacher/open house

event has not been set.

Mayor pleased with project’s potential

match.

He reminded the council

that a public hearing and com-

ment period regarding the

project is needed.

Mayor Mark Bowen was

pleased with the project, noting

that the added pressure would

set the city up for development

on the south side of 35.

Ruiz said the last time the

city applied for this project

there were 20 applicants for

the grant and enough funding

for 13 or 14 cities. In that grant

pool, the city came in 16th of

17th, narrowly missing out on

funding.

With the 10 added points

and cities that receiving fund-

ing in the last cycle being

deducted 10 points, Ruiz felt

confident the city would secure

funding this go-around.

The council moved to vote

and unanimously approved

considering the water line

extension project for grant

application for the upcoming

grant cycle.