Bid awarded for Flathead High remodel

A bid to demolish and expand Flathead High School came in under budget estimates.

With a base bid of $9.2 million, Swank Enterprises was awarded the project by Kalispell Public Schools board of trustees Tuesday. Initial estimates anticipated it to come in at around $10 million.

“We’re very, very excited,” Tom Heinecke of Morrison-Maierle said.

The district received one other bid submission from Great Falls-based Sletten Construction.

“Swank was significantly lower,” Heinecke said, before introducing Grant Kerley, a project manager at Swank.

“We’re very happy with the bid results and being able to provide the school district with a great value,” Kerley said. “We’ve done work on pretty much every school in this district.”

Swank also submitted lower than anticipated bid amounts for alternate projects that included flooring and the fire alarm system, both deferred maintenance items, and a new coffee area.

One alternate project, a cell tower, was also included, but would not be paid for by the school district, rather by Verizon, which is proposing to locate it on the school roof, according to Heinecke and Gwyn Andersen, district director of business services.

“Verizon would pay for construction of the tower and then we’ll get some rent for that as well,” said Gwyn Andersen, district director of business services.

The tower if installed, would be located on the school roof, Heinecke said.

“It’s safe to say you’re not going to know that tower is there,” Flatau said.

“That’s correct,” Heinecke said. “The tower is actually located very central to the building, so you will not be able to see it from any of the streets around the building. You’ll be able to see it if you fly over, though.”

According to Andersen, Verizon would be installing the tower to increase its coverage.

Swank is currently serving as the general contractor and construction manager for the Linderman Education Center renovation project. The firm is headquartered in Valier, with offices in Kalispell and Billings.

In addition to Flathead and Linderman, other buildings slated for renovations include the H.E. Robinson Agricultural Center and Glacier High School (deferred maintenance only) as part of a $28.8 million high school district bond.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.