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Construction prices are escalating for public works projects these days, just as the cost of living is going up for American families. Food, clothing, fuel and homes are all more expensive than they were three or four years ago and, in some cases, just six months ago, so it's no surprise that the estimated cost of making improvements to Homer Pittard Campus School is higher than a projected $2.5 million. Rutherford County Schools officials reported last week the job could take another $600,000. .
A construction manager will be hired by Kalamazoo County to oversee construction of a $28.5 million juvenile home approved by voters in August. The 64-bed juvenile home, adjacent to the current juvenile home at 1424 Gull Road, could open by late 2008 or early 2009, officials say. County Administrator Donald Gilmer said the county will solicit bids for a construction manager who will be responsible for keeping the project within budget and on schedule. Changes during large construction projects can be frequent, costly and unnecessary, he said. ``If somebody starts blowing a bunch of smoke at you, you have got to know they are blowing smoke at you,'' Gilmer said. ``It might not be obvious to a non-professional, so (a construction manager will be) our eyes and ears on the job.'' Gilmer said he wants the manager in place in November, before a contract is awarded to an architectural and engineering firm.
A top lawmaker says he wants a guarantee from Gov. Haley Barbour that consumers, rather than contractors, will benefit from the governor's proposed tax cut on modular housing - the sole issue in a special legislative session that starts Thursday. "Usually, the homeowner does not pay the tax directly," House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, said in a written statement Wednesday. "Instead, it is paid by the contractor when he buys the modular home and simply becomes a part of the cost of construction. The homeowner never sees it." Barbour says decreasing the tax rate on modular homes could help speed up rebuilding in south Mississippi, where thousands of people are still waiting to rebuild their homes more than 13 months after Hurricane Katrina. The governor's spokesman, Pete Smith, said lowering the tax rate would benefit home buyers.
Gov. Haley Barbour has set a Thursday special session for lawmakers to consider proposals that would reduce the cost of modular home construction on the hurricane-ravaged Mississippi Gulf Coast. The special session will convene at noon, said Barbour spokesman Pete Smith. Specifically, lawmakers will be asked to reduce the state's tax on modular homes by $4,000 to $6,000 per home.It is the same proposal that passed the Senate but died in the House Ways and Means Committee when Chairman Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, didn't bring it up for a vote during a special session in August. Modular houses are made in factories then shipped to home sites and erected on slabs. Because modulars are made to meet local building codes, they're often allowed to be put in places where mobile homes are excluded from permanent placement.
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