Live Oak High School's theater remains under construction after a slight hiccup.
Morgan Hill Unified School District staff sent Hollister-based contractor Sanchez Inc. a notice of intent to cancel the contract if it didn't speed up the work. They sped up.
Work on the theater's second phase wasn't progressing fast enough, according to District Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini said.
District officials were concerned that work on the project's second phase, laying the foundation, wasn't progressing at the right pace, she said.
"We're pleased with them now, they're doing a good job now," Tognazzini said during a Tuesday evening school board meeting at district headquarters. "We're not behind schedule, but there was a concern that we would be."
The contractor, Sanchez Inc., was served the notice on Sept. 12 and was given 10 days to pick up the pace, according to a staff report.
Sanchez Inc. bid the project at $413,000, more than $60,000 less than district estimates for this phase. In April, school board officials approved a total of $4.2 million worth of theater-related construction contracts, including this one.
Sanchez Inc. President Nancy Sanchez said the theater's construction delay and the resulting cancellation notice were caused by a misunderstanding.
"There were answers that were being waited on," Sanchez said. "There were some unforeseen site conditions that caused some redesign. It was just a misunderstanding on whose responsibility it was."
Sanchez said it was the architects' and engineers' responsibility. It's all cleared up now, she said, and her company will be done with their portion of the project by the end of this month.
"It's going to be a gorgeous theater," she said.
Sanchez Inc. was also the low, and therefore winning, bidder on the plumbing portion of the project. The company will be paid $722,000 for this phase, more than $110,000 less than district estimates.
Talk of renovating the Little Theater began in 2006. Some seats in the theater were broken and the furnishings were worn. The amphitheater will fill out a cement slab outside the Little Theater creating an indoor and outdoor theater complex.
Delays at the state level, especially with the Division of State Architects overseeing and approving plans for the renovations and new amphitheater, dragged the turnaround to get the project underway.
The board of education began setting aside money to pay for the renovations through a bond in 2006. The district has since refinanced the bond as other renovations at the high school have been completed.
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett covers education and city issues for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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