PROVIDED GRAPHICS — Renderings created by Invision Architecture show what the exterior entrance (pictured at top) and historic auditorium (bottom) would look after the $106 million “Reimagine Miller” project is completed. On Nov. 5, voters in the Marshalltown Community School District will decide the fate of a $57 million bond referendum that would fund a little over half of the renovation, while the rest would come from bonds against the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) sales tax dollars.

Boyd Jones Construction will be the primary contractor and build the reimagined $106 million Miller Middle School, provided that a 60 percent supermajority of residents in the Marshalltown Community School District approve the project in the Nov. 5 general election. During the regular Monday meeting, the MCSD school board signed the contract with Boyd Jones Construction and put the company in charge of reconstructing the hallowed educational halls.

With the $57 million General Obligation (GO) bond vote on Nov. 5 right around the corner, the board received an explanation on why the Reimagine Miller plan was the best course of action.

Pete Perez, the construction manager with Boyd Jones, told the board various teams had been working on Reimagine Miller plans for more than nine months. It started with understanding the deteriorating conditions of Miller Middle School, and efforts extended to working on how to transform the facility and getting word out about the importance of the vote. The groups consisted of educators, district administrators, local elected officials, business leaders and students.

“Students [were] a major component of some of the input that was received — getting student feedback in terms of what they’re currently going through, what they’re currently dealing with, and ideally what education looks like in Marshalltown moving forward,” he said. “That was tremendous input from them.”

The teams took six components into consideration:

• Student proximity. Perez said this was very important as a student demographic study was conducted by the district.

“It was discovered, or found in that study, that the (student) population is on the northern side of town for the most part,” he said.

• Sustainable impact. Perez asked if they were being stewards of assets and investments the district already has. By reimagining Miller, the components of sustainability are addressed, he said.

“The sustainability impact goes beyond the brick and mortar which is already there,” he said. “. . . Sustainability makes a big impact when we talk about reusing and improving existing facilities.”

Perez asked if it would reinvigorate and revitalize the community, and team members felt the answer was yes.

• Site area. Reimagining Miller provides 12 acres to work with. He said that while the property is not contiguous as it would be on a new site, the district already has the investment of real estate taken care of.

“To look at new construction, you would have to make an acquisition of approximately 28 acres of land somewhere in the community,” Perez said. “We looked at (the) existing Miller Middle School with the components of Franklin Field, and you have a practice field not too far from there.”

Preserving local history. Listening to various conversations, he learned the auditorium is something the community uses, is needed and is a source of pride. By looking at a brand new facility, the historical aspect is not there.

“Reimagine Miller does check those boxes,” Perez said. “Those of you that have seen it during its tenure, know it does play a crucial role in the history of Marshalltown and certainly in the fine arts realm.”

Area for learning, meaning square feet for each student. In a new facility, he said there is a range of 200 to 220 square feet per student, and they benchmarked roughly 215 square feet for a middle school in the region. The current school has the additional gymnasium and the auditorium, and the opportunity to offer students 300 to 310 square feet.

“A brand new middle school would be much less in square footage than what you have at the existing Miller Middle School currently,” he said.

Cost. Perez said they have had a lot of questions. For example, if the investment to Reimagine Miller is on the low end of $94 million in total, why not build a new facility?

“To do a brand new one, with not the amount of square footage, certainly not the other characteristics, would add $3 million to $3.5 million to that price tag,” he said.

The Reimagine Miller plan addresses the majority of considerations they heard, Perez said. Not all of the facility would need to be transformed, as there will be some construction and renovation.

According to Superintendent Theron Schutte, based on renderings of what Miller would look like post-renovation, 80 percent will be new or like new. He added that they also listened and know the community does not want another large facility sitting empty, such as the old hospital, the former McFarland Clinic or the Marshalltown Mall.

A supermajority of voters in the school district, 60 percent, need to approve the $57 million in general obligation bonds for the middle school project on Nov. 5. The rest of the project cost — $49 million — will be financed through SAVE (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education) funds.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.