It’s message that is repeating everywhere: Long lead times for materials continue to have impacts on construction projects in the queue.

Construction Project Management Director Scott Reichenbacher provided the School Board of Lee County with a quarterly update last week, which included many projects in the East Zone.

The first project discussed was G. Weaver Hipps Elementary School, which is in a holding pattern for some financing in regards to the PreK addition.

“The board has approved an increase for design expanded scope, so we are just waiting for the PreK program to allow for that additional design money to be released,” so they can start the design process and proceed, he said.

“We are closing on the property you have approved the first week of May, so that will wrap that up, so then we can move ahead aggressively and get all that expansion on that site.”

Another school that had an update was the old Lehigh Acres Middle School, which will part of the Veterans Park Academy for the Arts. The furniture has been ordered and the school is on schedule to open for the first day of school on Aug. 10.

Unfortunately due to permitting with South Florida Water Management and the long lead times on material, the renovation project at Riverdale High School has been pushed back. Reichenbacher said they anticipated doing some summer work out of that school.

“The concrete pipes that handle the stormwater are now 23 to 26 week fabrication duration,” he said. “So we cannot even get our fabrication and drawings until the GMP. Unfortunately that work will not be able to occur this summer.”

Reichenbacher is meeting with the design team and reforecasting the schedule.

“We will work with the school based staff to come up with the schedule to move us through the winter and into the spring next week with the scope of work. It’s a large parking area, so it is going to be quite a thing to try and coordinate that and not disrupt the school activity, but we will figure it out,” he said.

The new construction project of Amanecer Elementary School is going to be interesting, Reichenbacher said.

“What you have approved in your phase one for J is you have approved a shell package, which includes all the windows, the roofing, which is a long lead item, the generators, the shift gears. We are ordering those and splitting. Remember your process was a phase one and a phase two. I can no longer obtain those two portions,” he said. “I have to break out part of phase two and absorb it in phase one to get the long lead times in time. We are going to try to get those long lead items ordered, so all those materials show up on time for us to open those seats.”

Reichenbacher said in the five year capital plan, Amanecer is budgeted for $51 million.

“There is a very good chance it will probably come out around $55. I will keep you abreast at that,” he said.