Workers from Belonga Plumbing install the valve and connecting pipe on the east side of St. Ignace school property. The connection begins the new water line west across the parking lot to LaSalle High School. Pictured are (above ground, from left) Dan Sheber and Coolidge “Teeny” Fraser, and (below ground, from left) Jason Sobleskey, Billy Fraser of the Department of Public Works and Chad Belonga.

After learning that the current water line for LaSalle High School would not supply enough pressure for the new fire control sprinklers being installed, St. Ignace Area Schools officials have had to make quick arrangements to implement new service.

The result is an extra project that started Monday, August 1, as the district races to get its entire $1.2 million LaSalle renovation done before the start of school September 6. Funding the project is a 15-year, 1.0 mill sinking fund that voters approved in June, 2004.

A request for bids was quickly sent out following Superintendent Mike Springsteen’s announcement of the water pressure predicament at the July 11 board of education meeting. He had the authority to execute the process between board meetings, given the urgency of the situation and that it existed within the scope of the bigger project already approved. The award went to Belonga Plumbing of St. Ignace for $29,000, though the total cost of the extra work, including what must be done by project administrator Wolgast Corporation in the school, will be $30,000 to $35,000.

Within the budget for the project, there is a contingency fund that was designed to be used in case of a situation such as this. The bids for individual elements of the projects also came in under budget.

The fire control sprinklers are just for certain areas, such as janitors’ closets and storage areas, that might contain highly flammable materials. Installing them brings the school up to code. The water pressure from the four-inch line that had previously served the school was not sufficient, should water be required from the nearby fire hydrant.

To allow for maximal access during the construction, the company is tearing into just half of the parking lot at once, instead of making the entire east-west cut that would have bisected it and forced those wanting normal access to the middle/elementary school, pool, and ballfields to take the Spring Street entrance to the school.

“We are hoping to get this done in the next week or so,” said Mr. Springsteen. The middle and elementary school building receives city water from a six-inch main coming off Truckey Street, and its own supply will not be adversely affected by diverting some of the water to the high school, he said.