Cost of Moses Lake elementary school rises

MOSES LAKE — Building a new Moses Lake elementary school is being estimated at $700,000 over budget due to inflation of construction costs and a larger site design.

Construction of the school starts May 2008, with an opening date of fall 2009. It will be located on Peninsula Drive.

Brent Harding, one of the site's primary architects, said at a board meeting Thursday the school could cost $714,000 more than originally estimated.

A list of options for reducing the cost of the project is going to be made available to the board, Harding said.

Site plans are 1,279 square feet larger than the target area of 45,000 square feet, adding $289,000 to the project cost.

Escalation of construction prices could add an additional $425,000 to the project cost, Harding said.

"Ultimately, we've seen about a 12-percent escalation in total unit costs over the time frame from when this was originally budgeted," Harding said.

Staff believe they are providing a cautious estimate, he noted.

A more concrete price is going to be available later in the process when the site plans become detailed.

Harding noted the site design contains nothing extravagant.

"It's lean by comparison to what we see going on around the state," Harding said.

Construction is funded as part of a $33.8 million sale of voter-approved bonds. A second elementary school is funded by the bonds, plus an expansion of special education space, an additional gym at Chief Moses Middle School, safety upgrades, technology upgrades, a completion of the Lions Field project and new facilities for the district's transportation, maintenance and warehouse departments.