By Brian L. Gray

The Mandan School Board gave its approval to two requests for qualifications by two entities interested in taking over the former junior high school.

Board member Tim Rector, who serves on the committee in charge of supervising the RFQs, said the committee met on June 9 to review the requests that came forward.

The first request came from Community Works, which plans to use the former junior high as multi-use assisted living apartments.

Rector said the second request from Haugland came in the form of a letter, and didn’t fit in with the RFQ guidelines, so the committee did not know it was a request until after the meeting took place. So the committee met again the following week to discuss the other request. It was submitted by an individual, Erling Haugland, who also enclosed a $50,000 check to purchase the facility.

“We decided to waive the requirements and treated that proposal as an RFQ. We voted for it to move forward to the board for approval,” Tausend said.

The RFQs will now go to the Mandan City Commission for approval. If the city commission approves the two requests, the two entities that submitted the request will be asked to explain in further detail what its plans are for the facility. The deadline for this second step in the process is Aug. 6.

Ellen Huber, who serves as a liaison between the RFQ committee and the two entities who submitted the RFQs, said the next step will not have the guidelines the RFQ, but it will ask both entities to be more specific in its plans with the former junior high.

Huber said both entities have been notified by mail, asking for the further detail in its next request, a request for proposals.

Tausend said Community Works gave its intentions with the former junior, but Haugland’s letter was not very detailed. “The details will be in the requests for proposals, which will play a part in what we determine,” he said.

The board also approved extending the deadline for contractor bids for an additional week for the renovation of the Mandan Community Center.

Architect All Fitterer said there are advantages to adding an extension; namely, it will allow more contractors to make a bid, which gives the school district a better chance at receiving lower bids. He said in all, there are four general, six mechanical and seven electrical projects that will require a bid.

Fitterer said he doesn’t see any cause for concern in delaying the bid deadlines. “I don’t see this as a detriment to our completion date,” he said.