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TRIO Wolf Creek is preparing to move into a new facility, and is requesting a tax break from the school district.

TRIO Director Tracy Quarnstrom made the request at the March 11 Chisago Lakes School Board meeting.

Greystone Construction is building a 10,000 square-foot facility in the industrial park on Liberty Lane in Chisago City. TRIO will commit to a 20-year lease on the property.

TRIO is requesting a five year tax abatement from all three government entities involved - the school district, the city and the county.

Quarnstrom said the time is right for the school to move into a larger facility. At one point, they said the ideal number of students for the school's current space, the old hospital owned by Fairview in Chisago City, was 125 students. Currently, the school is serving 141 students and for the first time since its inception, has a waiting list.

Because of the online learning component and flexible scheduling, the school has actually served 215 different students this school year, Quarnstrom said.

Staff knew it was time to look for a bigger location. Originally, they looked to expand into vacant space adjacent to the current location, but indoor air quality and other issues made the move less than ideal.

The new location will allow TRIO to serve around 175 students.

Quarnstrom said construction and the move will happen quickly. Crews will break ground in April and they plan to move into the space in August.

Referendum project update

Scott Johnson of ICS Consulting presented an update on various referendum projects getting started this spring.

There was a complication with the winning bids awarded on roofing projects at all five school buildings, when Interstate Roofing withdrew its bid following the bid opening last month.

According to a letter, Interstate bid incorrectly because of a "mathematical error" on the high school roofing projects, coming in with a bid that was $158,000 lower than they would have bid on the project.

Director of Business Services Heide Miller said the district will pursue damages of around $60,000 in bonds, because Interstate was awarded the bid on that portion of the project. Now the district is forced to go with the second lowest bid, coming from Berwald Construction.

"There have been a few hiccups, but we're still under budget and everything is coming along," Johnson said.

Roofing projects will start the day after school is out, with the exception of Lakeside, where the project can start May 1.

At Taylors Falls Elementary, the district's custodial staff were all on hand during Spring Break to clear everything out of the portable to prepare for its demolition. The four classrooms housed in the portable will be temporarily set up in rooms in the main building until the addition is complete this fall.

Demolition crews will begin to tear down the portable next week and construction of the addition is slated to begin April 14.

The high school athletic campus project will enter the bidding process in April, with bid opening on the bleachers and press box April 10 and bids on the remainder of the project opened April 17.

Exterior envelope project bids will be opened March 27 and parking lot improvement/paving project bids opened April 8.

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