Whitnall School Board Hires Firms for Athletic Field Project

The Whitnall School Board agreed to award architect and construction manager contracts for its , continuing a planning process which could see ground broken by the end of the school year.

At its meeting Monday, the board hired Eppstein Uhen Architects of Milwaukee to design the new facilities, and VJS Construction Services of Pewaukee to manage the project once construction begins. The school board approved in February borrowing $6.5 million in general obligation bonds for the project.

The school district has a longstanding positive relationship with Eppstein Uhen, most recently completing a more than three-year renovation of Whitnall Middle School under budget, according to district business manager Amy Kohl.

“No matter what the project is, you’re going to have some issues, and the best thing you can have is to have your architect and your construction manager there with you to get those issues resolved to the benefit of everyone involved,” Kohl said.

The architect work was not put out to a bidding process, which board member Bernard Shaw called “irregular and somewhat out of process.” Shaw said he supported the hire, however, given Eppstein’s previous outstanding work for the district and familiarity with the existing high school facilities. Shaw and board president Bill Osterndorf abstained from the unanimous vote because their private firms provide services to Eppstein.

VJS Construction impressed an ad hoc interview team with its experience, plan to educate students during the project and safety track record, according to district supervisor of buildings and grounds Matt Karshna. The firm has logged more than 1.3 million hours of labor without an accident and provided a detailed safety plan, Karshna said. The board unanimously approved the VJS contract.

The board will still need to vote on final contracts for each provider, which are still under review, Kohl said.

The district will now be able to work with Eppstein Uhen and VJS to determine a scope and schedule for the facilities project. During a presentation on buildings and grounds expenditures and priorities, the board discussed whether reconstruction of the high school pool could be prioritized higher in order to achieve efficiencies.

The need to renovate baseball diamonds could be less dire and could be prioritized to a later phase of the project, Karshna said.

Special Accolades

The school board honored the work and achievements of district students at its meeting Monday.

“As always, we are very proud and pleased to have so many students within our school district who accomplish so much,” Osterndorf said. 

The board lauded and , who wrote, filmed and directed a highlight video of Whitnall High School that was . The board also recognized Cory Wunrow for organizing the installation of a tennis practice board, and Jacob Kujawa for organizing the painting of a music mural in longest high school hallway.

The board honored the , which won team state and national championships, consisting of Drake Ambroch, Luke Bennet, Danny Bigalke, Matt Bublitz, Jake Burkard, Jake Coury, Sam D’Amico, Alex Dellis, Matthew Donaldson, Trevor Fuller, Linnzy Gely, Cassie Haas, Robert Hansen, Alex Hardy, Jacob Hardy, Zach Harenda, Andy Karwoski, Ryan Lepkowski, Todd Marino, Nate Marshall, Troy Monty, Justin Nawrocik, Connor Perry, Nickolas Richer, Kurtis Scardino, Michael Schaefer, Ryan Slattery, Nate Stemo, Ashley Thompson, Bradin Tilley, Danny Voelkel, Danny Wahl, Keng Xiong and Fue Xiong.