Contractors look over Plains school plans

It's an empty lot now, but by next year at this time there will be a new school building standing there at the corner of Johnson and Rittenour Streets. 

Four contractors gathered at Plains School for a preliminary meeting to get briefed on the construction of the school's new multi-function facility, find out about any special needs for the project, and look over the site in order to put in their bids for the project. They were also given the architectural plans created by architect Jules Landis of In2itive Architecture of Missoula, so they knew exactly what was needed. 

The school has been planning a new addition for several years, but the idea became more concrete when it received a $750,000 grant from the Montana Department of Commerce last year. In June, the school received another present - a "private entity" gave the school $400,000 with the stipulation that it would only be used for the new building, said Plains School Superintendent Thom Chisholm. He added that the donor's name would be anonymous for the time being. He said the money from the grant and the donor won't cover the total cost of the project, but he didn't want to release what the total amount would be at this point.

Dan McGee, the buyer's representative for the school district, and Chisholm met with builders from Swank Enterprises of Kalispell and Missoula, Martel Construction of Missoula, Western Interstate Construction of Missoula and Jackson Contractor Group of Missoula. McGee said there was one other company interested, but couldn't make it to the meeting, which lasted about an hour. 

The school had sent out a request for qualifications to a number of interested contractors and companies that they believed had the qualifications to do the job. Chisholm said interested companies will put together a proposal for the job, including their qualifications and schedule for the work, which McGee said they wanted to get back by Monday. Chisholm said he and McGee will look over the proposals and give their recommendations to the school board, which will likely hold a special board meeting sometime toward the end of July to select the contractor. 

Chisholm wants to break ground in September and have the job complete sometime in the spring. The superintendent said they'll look for low bids, but they want quality work. Chisholm told the contractors at the meeting that he wanted to incorporate in the new building a 6.5- foot high steel security fence, which had first been used in the original Plains School gymnasium in the 1940s. He wants to use it in the new building to block off the art room's kilns. The gate, which was made by Acorn Wire and Iron Works in Chicago, expands to six feet long. "I really want to use it; it's a great piece of history," said Chisholm, who's been the superintendent since 2010 and a teacher at Plains for 27 years. He also requested that builders try to avoid taking out a mature maple tree along Johnson Street.

Originally, Chisholm, Kevin Meredith, the high school principal and the grant writer for the project, and Jim Holland, the elementary school principal, made the plans for the building, which was L-shaped and was 11,400 square feet, but the design was altered by In2itive Architecture, the firm hired by the school. The final plans have it as a rectangular building 80 feet wide, 150 feet long and 20 feet high, peaking at 24 feet. The steel building will now be 12,000 square feet, said Chisholm, who added that changing it to a rectangle gives the building a better fit and it will be more efficient when it comes to water, sewer and electric, in addition to being larger than the original plan. 

The largest part of the structure will be a new 80- by 100-foot gymnasium, which will be the same size as the present gym. It will also house the art class, which presently is located on the second floor above the shop class on the opposite side of the campus and is not accessible to all students. The new multi-function facility will also be utilized for performing arts, such as concerts and the drama club, which has been putting on their plays at the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion and costing the school $1,200 a year. It will have an office for the physical education teacher, along with locker rooms, two public restrooms and a loft for storage.  

The structure will not be attached to the nearby middle school wing. It will have three sets of double doors, two single doors, and a 10- by 10-foot automatic rollup garage door for the school drama club and when the Montana Repertory Theatre brings in their stage items. The building will be multi-colored to closely match the school colors and might have a 20-foot long image of the Horsemen/Trotters logo on it.

"This will be a great addition to the school," said Johnny Holland, chairman of the Plains School Board and a 1976 graduate. He said the building will be beautiful and help alleviate scheduling problems for the present gym, which was sometimes difficult for games and practices for high school and junior high after school sports. The school has been paying about $4,100 annually for about 15 years for the rental of the Christian Alliance Church gymnasium for junior high school games, which will be another big savings for the school.

Chisholm was pleased with the turnout of contractors. He said they are all well known and established companies. Western Interstate Construction built the elementary school wing in 2014, which was the result of a $1.14-million state grant. RG Dickey of Swank Enterprises said they've done over 170 school projects. He said the company also built the $7.5-million Clark Fork Valley Hospital expansion in 2007 and the new Rocky Mountain Bank in Plains in 2004.