ICSD Bus Barn Nearly Complete; Open House Set for May 6th

April 10, 2015

April 10, 2015 (Independence, IA) – With the completion of the new bus barn quickly approaching, the Independence Community School District is pleased to announce an Open House for the public to come view the finished facility on May 6th from 4pm – 6pm.

The School District had the benefit of being able to continue using the current bus barn (located by the old high school) while the new bus barn was being built.  As a result, the School District was able to take advantage of the additional time to reduce the project cost.  District maintenance staff, working alongside Porter & Porter Construction, completed a good portion of the interior work as time allowed.  This included dry walling, installation of plumbing fixtures, cabinets, and trim work.  This saved the School District a considerable amount of money.

The new bus barn has many notable features:

  • Size:
    • Approximately three times the size of the old bus barn
    • Capacity to house 3 buses at one time with 2 full service bays and 1 wash bay
    • During the winter, all school vans can be parked inside out of the elements
    • Substantially larger parking lot for the buses next to the facility
  • Location:
    • Located North of the Jr/Sr High School
    • Moving the location to the single campus reduces the cost of traveling across town to house buses and vans
  • Efficiency:
    • In-floor heat to reduce heating costs and keep the floors dry
    • Energy efficient upgrades to the floor boiler
    • LED efficient lighting
  • Security:
    • The parking lot will be secured by a fence and include security cameras

Last fall, the School Board approved the sale of the bus barn and adjoining lot for $42,501 following advertisement and sealed bids.  The School District will close on that transaction around May 1st.

School Board President, Brian Eddy noted “The School Board’s long term goal for quite some time has been to consolidate all facilities onto a single campus to increase efficiency and accessibility.  The new bus barn is a major upgrade over our existing bus barn, and helps move us closer to a single campus.  After The Final Push projects are completed, the District will have a single campus that the communities of Brandon, Independence and Rowley all played a major role in helping accomplish.  It’s been a wide-spread effort dating back to the construction of the new JR / SR high school”.

The Final Push projects include the installation of field turf that eliminated the need for the soccer field / band practice fields across town.  Six tennis courts are under construction on the new campus to eliminate the tennis courts by the old high school, and future baseball / softball fields will bring the District’s baseball and softball games to District’s campus.

For more information on the progress of the Final Push projects and how to help complete those projects, visit the Independence Mustang Foundation website at www.indeemustangfoundation.com and click on the News/Projects page.

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