The Franklin Field project moved forward during the regular Marshalltown Community School Board meeting Monday evening, with support for the project becoming known.

The board members, with the exception of Leah Stanley, approved the construction of a new concession and restroom facility, the replacement of the track and field which includes an expanded west parking lot, transforming Franklin Elementary restrooms into storage rooms and additional necessary work such as site modifications and finishes.

Mitch Broekemeier of Boyd Jones Construction said the interest in the project has been high and bidder turnout for a project that is less than $1 million has been incredible

“We had 13 bids on three bid packages and we were hoping to get one for each bid package,” he said. “We had multiple on all three bid packages.”

It led to the construction cost coming in at $100,000 lower than what was estimated. Broekemeier said even with some unexpected costs, the total is still $40,000 less than the last estimate.

“The bulk of the construction teams working with us on this project are from Marshalltown, which is a huge win,” he said. “We come in and typically try to get a majority from local, but inevitably there’s always some struggles with doing that. This town had a huge turnout in a big way. There’s a lot of people that want this, and it shows.”

Some of the local contractors which received award recommendations were Ramm’s Construction for concrete work, Con-Struct Inc. for earthwork and utilities; Hay Construction for general trades on the concession stand and; Kapaun & Brown for the concession plumbing and HVAC.

Broekemeier said they were also looking at additional funding sources to help bridge the gap in the $7.8 million final project cost. They found PERL funding for $84,000; Marshalltown High School Career and Technical Education project savings, $750,000 and; the City of Marshalltown paying for half of the $262,360 cost of the storm sewer replacement.

Superintendent Theron Schutte said the City of Marshalltown approved a 28E agreement with Marshalltown Community School District to split the Franklin Field replacement cost. The district and the city will each pay for half, or $131,180. Schutte said the city met last week and approved the agreement.

“I think Pete and I would both agree that we are excited to see what happens over the next few months as we start to really develop the design,” Broekemeier said.

Franklin Field work is part of the Reimagine Miller project, for which Marshalltown voters approved a $57 million bond referendum during the Nov. 5 general election, and will be paired with $49 million in Securing an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) bonds for a $106 million renovation. Construction is expected to begin June 9 with a completion date of Dec. 9.

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