Auburn company to build county’s new venue

First Team Construction Co., Inc.’s low bid of $3,491,800 for the construction of a planned new state-of-the-art track facility won the approval of the Covington County Board of Education Thursday. The company is based in Auburn.

Architect Walter McKee of McKee and Associates assured board members he people at First Team Construction are good people to work with.

“They have done several projects with me,” McKee said. “They worked at T.R. Miller, Spanish Fort and completely rebuilt Beauregard High School.”

McKee said he believes that First Team Construction will do what it takes to have the project complete by February; the only thing stopping them would be the dirt that is currently on the acreage.

“The biggest task will be (moving) the 60,000 cubic yards of dirt,” McKee said. “But if they get that out of the way, then I don’t see why they won’t be done by February.”

McKee said the bid includes widening the stretch of road on Hwy. 55, to make room for a turning lane into the facility.

“The turn lane is required by the Department of Transportation,” McKee said. “So this bid includes the widening of the highway.”

The lighting for the facility was let separately from the original bid, to cut the costs, Superintendent Shannon Driver said.

First Team Construction’s bid includes $24,000 to install the lights, but the bid for the equipment, which the board approved yesterday as well, was $169,900.

The board decided to purchase equipment from Musco Lighting, and McKee said that the equipment is the best there is.

“In most stadium lights, they will dim over time so you have to get more than usual,” McKee said. “But with Musco’s lights, they vary the amount of electricity to maintain light levels. That way we will be able to save money in service costs.”

The board also agreed to enter into a lease purchase arrangement with Musco Lighting.

“This way we can pay in several payments,” Driver said. “I think these are the best lights we can get.”

The lights also come with a 10-year warranty, Driver said.

Other companies that bid for the project were Wyatt Sasser Construction, who bid $3,546,000; Bull Construction, who bid $3,769,000; and Southern Structure, who bid $3,728,000.

“In the end, we decided to go with First Team Construction, because the other companies bid a little more than expected,” Driver said.