The Great Falls Public Schools board approved a $176,825 contract to Guy Tabacco Construction during their Aug. 3 meeting for repairs to the gym area at Loy Elementary School.

The repairs are needed to address damage from the 4.2 earthquake on Jan. 29 and the subsequent aftershocks.

The gym ceiling was damaged and new cracks became evident, plus cracks on an exterior wall of the gym above one of the windows, according to GFPS staff.

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The district doesn’t have to follow the standard contracting process for these repairs since the damage was caused by an unforeseen emergency, in this case earthquakes, according to GFPS officials.

Tony Houtz from Cushing Terrell Architects has been consulting GFPS on the project since the earthquake and recommends that repairs should be completed as soon as possible to provide the safest environment for students and staff, according to the GFPS agenda report.

Following the January earthquake, district staff worked to identify any damage across the district.

One concern was the structural support around Loy’s gym.

Houtz and the engineering team assessed the damage and determined it was not an immediate threat to the safety of the building, so school could continue.

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Since then, soil testing has been completed and further assessment of the damage, according to GFPS.

The project includes repairing steel roof trusses and concrete, and checking to ensure there’s no further damage within the roof structure.

The project is estimated to take three to four weeks.

Guy Tabacco Construction recently completed window replacement, exterior upgrades and façade improvements at Loy.

“The architect is continuing to investigate the remainder of the building for other issues the earthquake may have caused. Should other issues arise, a second stage in the repair process will be advised,” according to the staff report.

The project will be paid through the district’s insurance policy, other than a $5,000 deductible.

Luke Diekhans, GFPS’ business operations manager, said during the Aug. 3 board meeting that the concrete trusses in the roof had shifted, causing cracking.

He said there could be a second phase of the project if other sections of the building needs repairs.

Bill Bronson moved to approve the contract, which was unanimously approved.

Kim Skornogoski, board member, asked if staff would come back to the board if more work was needed and costs increased.

Diekhans said it would be handled similarly to the Lincoln roof repair with staff handling minor changes. Any large changes would come before the school board.

Diekhans said that Loy should operate normally when school starts in a few weeks. If work extends into the school year, he said it could be accommodated with minor disruption to normal operations.