Mars Area School Board continues taking steps on elementary expansion project
ADAMS TWP — The Mars Area School Board approved a proposal for geotechnical engineering services at a meeting on Tuesday evening, Sept. 10.
The board listened to several proposals before ultimately going with Cernica Engineering at a cost of $16,496. There is a possibility more payments could be made for engineering services, depending on how the project develops.
Engineering services represent another phase of the ongoing Mars Area Elementary School expansion project.
After hearing four different design plans from the architecture firm DRAW Collective at a meeting last week, the board decided to go with option C.
That plan calls for the classroom wing of the elementary school to be three stories, and for the cafeteria wing to be either one or two stories.
“We worked through three different options,” said superintendent Mark Gross. “We’re now down to what we called option C, which was unveiled last meeting. Now we’re going to proceed with that. The option takes into consideration the amount of space we need.
“It’s not an expansive project. It’s still somewhat contained to where we don’t have to worry about a steep drop off where the wetlands are.”
Gross noted the design team for the project meets biweekly and will hope to give monthly updates to the board. The next presentation with DRAW Collective, which will focus on the interior of the project, is scheduled for Oct. 1.
