The North Mahaska School Board Monday night listened while architect Jerry Purdy outlined ways to shave $200,000 off the cost of the North Mahaska Early Childhood Education Center.

Purdy, with Design Alliance Inc., of Waukee, the firm in charge of architectural plans and cost estimates, displayed to the school board an architectural drawing of an attached building with the same overall outside dimensions for the building but with different construction materials and less brick on the exterior. The big floor plan change Purdy presented on paper was the elimination of a 72-foot long hallway that connected the old and new buildings and contained lockers in favor of a basic entrance and exit to either building.

“What we’re doing here is just changing the construction type to a wood frame-type construction,” Purdy said. “So it’s headed in the right direction. It’s just not there yet.”

Additional modifications Purdy offered included changes to the windows, floor tile, and material for interior walls, overall dimensions, site location, roof and mechanical systems.

Collaborating with Purdy on design was Jason LaRue, ProLine financial director. LaRue said his role was to help Design Alliance get the project within budget.

“We’re going to go down that path for awhile, and with (LaRue’s) help, then as the numbers start to show up, if that path gets to a dead end, then we’ll probably look at it being a separate building,” Purdy said.

LaRue said he preferred an attached building, but it would cost more. And even a stand-alone building would have issues that were not even addressed tonight, LaRue said.

“And I really think that the connecting part is the best option, myself,” he said. “It might not be the least expensive, but it is probably going to be the best for the community, down the road.”

The board verbally agreed to accept Purdy’s design modifications and wait for updated architectural plans to be drawn.

“I think we can get the thing to work to where it can be a set of documents to go back out for bids,” Purdy said. “And get a number that’s going to be much more tolerable.”

The North Mahaska Early Childhood Education Center is a project involving the school district, Sunshine and Smiles Day Care, and Share and Care Preschool.

Tina Layman, vice president of Sunshine and Smiles Day Care board of directors, called the first round of bid quotes a “bump in the road.”

“But we’re continuing to proceed as predicted because we’re going with the guidance of the professionals,” Layman said.

On April 14, the North Mahaska School Board rejected all bids for the nearly $670,000 project by a unanimous vote. Todd Hackett Construction in Muscatine submitted the lowest bid of $1,090,000. Dean Snyder Construction in Ankeny submitted the second-lowest bid at $1,095,720 and Regal Construction Services in Iowa City submitted the high bid at $1,125,000.

Bid details like excavation, masonry, metal roofing, casework, mechanical and painting all came in higher than expected. Electrical, doors and frames came in under the projected estimate.