FR board awards lot bid

There may be some short-term congestion as school begins, but by the end of October the south parking lot at Fort Recovery Elementary/Middle School will be more spacious.
Fort Recovery School Board on Wednesday awarded the 57-space parking lot expansion project to Shinn Brothers of Celina, Ohio, for its bid of $139,900.
Shinn Brothers was the only bidder for the project, which received no bids during an initial round in May. It came in just under the engineer’s estimated cost of $140,000.
The board had hoped to have the project complete before the start of the school year, but adjustments had to be made following the first round of bidding.
“The benefit far outweighs maybe having a little bit of a hiccup at the start of school,” said superintendent Justin Firks. “I think people in town will appreciate the additional parking spots.”
He added that Shinn Brothers planned to start as soon as possible if its bid was selected. The project is slated to be complete by Oct. 21.
Discussion about the parking lot expansion began late in 2015, and board members Jose Faller, Ginny Fortkamp, Aaron Guggenbiller, Mitch Ervin and Mike Grube selected a basic design at a special meeting in February. That plan calls for expanding to the west of the current lot in order to improve traffic flow, provide sufficient parking during school and community events and allow better access to trucks making deliveries. The project also includes extending the sidewalk along the length of the new parking area and removing part of the current island on the east side of the lot.
The need for more parking was one of the most frequent comments on a community survey conducted last year. Firks noted that in the past there have been many as 35 cars parked along the driveway to the school during high-volume events such as open houses and meet the teacher nights.
In other business, the board:
•Learned from treasurer Lori Koch that the district’s cash balance came in at $4.81 million at the close of fiscal year 2016 on June 30. It had a $1.05 million budget surplus, mostly because of increases in property taxes collections and state funding. Over the last two years, its general fund balance has increased by more than $1.65 million.
•Briefly discussed the planned center-based preschool, which provides services to children with special educational needs. Fort Recovery will provide classroom space, but Mercer County Educational Service Center is in charge of its staffing and operation. Fort Recovery was the only school district in the county that did not host a center-based preschool, with its students previously going to St. Henry for such services.
•Hired Francis Reid Knuth as color guard instructor, instrumental music programs leader and summer band director, Diana Rammel as junior high assistant volleyball coach and Donna Bates as junior high volleyball coach. Also heard from Knuth, a 2015 Ohio State University graduate, that the band ice cream social will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 19.
•Heard from elementary school principal Tracy Hein-Evers that open building night will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 22.
•Approved the following as substitute teachers: Nancy Abels, Barbara Alig, Janelle Braun, Denise Bruns, Lisa Grieshop, Sheri Grover, Tammie Heiser, Kathleen Heitkamp, Janet Hummel, Alicia Jutte, Kathleen Jutte, Sandra Kaiser, Lisa Lennartz, Nancy Reinhard, Charlene Pearson, Barbara Sautbine, Peggy Siefring, Jill Walter, Eileen Wendel and Angie Will. Also approved Brendon Moody, Anthony Rogers and Marcus Overman as substitute bus drivers and April Bihn, Joseph Bruns, Ronald B. Evers, Travis Guggenbiller, Tracy Hein Evers, Brady Kahlig, Matthew Kerns, Patricia Lefeld, Marcia Weigel and Courtney Wilker as van drivers.
•OK’d handbooks for preschool, kindergarten through fifth grade and bus drivers for the 2016-17 school year.
•Named Aaron Guggenbiller as the delegate and Jose Faller as the alternate to the Ohio School Board Association Capital Conference.
•Accepted donations of $1,000 from Business Advisory Council and $800 from Fort Recovery Community Foundation.
•Received a vehicle inventory sheet from Firks for the school district’s buses and vans. He informed the board that a new bus is scheduled for purchase in the spring.
•Approved three memorandums of understanding with the Fort Recovery Educators Association dealing with teacher evaluation, testing administration and leave time.
•Rescheduled its next board meeting for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 31.