Contractor Hosts Topping Out Luncheon

General Contractor Bartlett Cocke celebrated progress on the district’s new middle school with a “Topping Out” luncheon October 4. The event featured a barbeque luncheon for members of the Carroll School Board, the Citizen’s Bond Advisory Committee and school administrators. The Topping Out luncheon gave those present a chance to see progress as they toured the building, marking yet another phase in the ongoing construction project to build a new middle school on Kirkwood Boulevard near Blessed Way.

The building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011. Dr. Derek Citty, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, is working with the general contractor and architect John Haugen to oversee the project, which was approved by voters in May 2009. Work is currently underway to complete driveways and parking lots on site.

“The roofing and drying in process is well underway and that essentially seals the building in so that interior work can begin,” Dr. Citty said. “We’re pleased with the progress on this project to date and with the professionalism of our general contractor. It’s going to be a beautiful facility for our students and for our community.”

The district installed 514 geothermal wells on site to provide for a highly efficient heating and cooling system. CISD is also in the process of procuring the materials for the solar array on top of the building. Last March, school officials learned that the district had been given a $2 million solar energy grant by the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO). The campus is expected to collect solar energy, bringing the utility costs down by as much as 70 percent. The district should experience a six-year payback, with a significant reduction in energy costs.

Once the school is completed and students from Carroll Middle School start class there in August 2011, CISD will begin renovating the existing CMS campus into a technology/teacher training facility and administrative offices.