A sewer easement agreement between Whitfield County schools and local utilities takes the Coahulla Creek High School project near Varnell, Ga., another step toward its August 2011 completion date.
The easements will clear the way for Dalton Utilities to install sewer lines to connect with the new high school and New Hope Middle School and allow existing schools along the way to connect in the future, said Tim Trew, newly appointed chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Education.
Dalton Utilities’ switch to a plan for extensions rather than a new sewer plant will save the school system about $1 million and let the utility extend sewer service into new areas of the county, Mr. Trew said.
Extensions would allow Tunnel Hill Elementary, Northwest High, New Hope Elementary and Varnell Elementary schools to hook up to public sewer if needed, he said. The new lines also would be available to nearby residents who need to switch from septic systems or for new homes or development, Mr. Trew said.
“That’s big for quality-of-life issues for all of us here in Whitfield County,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Coahulla Creek High School site is taking shape as steel work continues this week, according to Jonathon Chattin, project engineer with Columbia, S.C.-based M.B. Kahn Construction Co., which is managing the project.
Wet winter weather created some problems for contractors, but “we’re still tracking to open the school on time,” Mr. Chattin said Tuesday.
Workers are erecting steel at the site this week, a portion of the project that has been broken down into eight sequences, he said, and a couple are “just about 80 to 90 percent complete.”
Earthwork is expected to be finished in February, weather permitting, he said.
FAST FACTSDalton Utilities’ original agreement to provide sewer service to Coahulla Creek High School called for the construction of an $8 million wastewater treatment plant with the school system covering half the cost. Officials said a new plan developed over the summer cuts the sewer service cost to about $2 million for the school system.BY THE NUMBERSCoahulla Creek High School* $45.2 million: Actual bid cost* $58.9 million: Budgeted cost* 63: Classrooms* 1,100: Projected enrollmentSource: Whitfield County Schools
Whitfield school system spokesman Eric Beavers said he last visited the site in mid-December.
“I was up there just a little while ago,” Mr. Beavers said Tuesday. “You can see the frame for three stories of building.”
Mr. Trew said another key development on the high school project is starting the process to define the school’s district.
Some of Whitfield’s principals named volunteers to create a panel to develop the new district outline, he said. People will have opportunities in the future to provide input on redistricting, he said.