School board moves forward with Aurora Heights renovation despite concerns

Feedback from community members prompted the Newton school board and even district administrators to share their concerns about the low bidder of the Aurora Heights Elementary addition and renovation, but a representative of the construction company assured officials the project would be completed on time.

Graphite Construction Group submitted the low bid of $12,895,000 for the new addition to Aurora Heights Elementary, which has been preemptively closed this school year in order to better prepare for the renovation. The contractor, although operating with a different name, previously worked on the administration building.

However, the construction group has faced some scrutiny over the past few years. In 2022, the Colfax-Mingo football stadium project was a year behind schedule. Graphite Construction released a statement to KCCI citing unforeseen conditions and design discrepancies, coupled with supply chain shortages.

Oskaloosa News reported in 2023 about the city council voting to fire Graphic Construction for failing to fulfill its contractual obligations, including a failure to perform work in accordance with the contract signed with the city and for not providing “adequate, properly skilled workers.”

Superintendent Tom Messinger asked a representative from the construction company to speak on the negative publicity it has received the past few years and assure the board that the Aurora Heights Elementary project will be a high priority and be timely and meet the needs of the district.

Joe Haug, vice president of Graphite Construction Group, said the company does a lot of work with FRK Architects + Engineers and on school districts. He acknowledged the negative issues the contractor faced and the “rough patch” it had during the COVID-19 pandemic with a couple projects.

“As far as this project goes, we take all these projects very seriously,” Haug said. “We have a lot of experience doing this type of project. We’ve built, I don’t know, at least seven or eight gymnasiums out in Waukee for FRK, and they were all successful projects and turned them over on time. We’re dedicated to this.”

Haug also mentioned that its subcontractors — many of them local — are all lined up to begin working on the electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems for the new addition and renovation. Haug said Graphite Construction Group is figuring out a preliminary schedule at the moment but would like to start this winter.

School board member Travis Padget recognized while it may be awkward to talk about these issues, he and the board felt it is their duty to ask questions.

“We just want to make sure we’re spending our money correctly,” Padget said.

In total, four bids were received by the Newton Community School District and its architectural firm FRK Architects + Engineers. Apart from the low bid, Stahl Construction submitted a $13.2 million bid, Eick & Day Construction submitted a $13.6 million bid and Larson Construction submitted a $13.9 million bid.