Andalusia City Schools will open bids for two major renovations projects at Andalusia High School at the end of this month.

The bids for major renovations to the auditorium and stadium are due on Tues., Oct. 24.

Originally, the school board planned to do the renovations in two phases, completing the auditorium before moving forward with the stadium. However, when the low bid for the first project was approximately $1 million more than anticipated, board members agreed to rebid the projects together, hoping to benefit some economies of scale.

But bidding the projects together meant Goodwyn Mills and Cawood had to complete more design work for the project.

The auditorium project includes demolition of the current stage area, expanding that end of the building, new seats, acoustical improvements and a new sound system, as well as new restroom facilities that would serve both the auditorium and the gymnasium.

The stadium project includes a new pressbox, new home bleachers, moving the field, and new facilities for softball and visiting players.

This time, the bids specs were written with base bids, and separate alternate bids for options the board would like to consider but may not be able to include.

Having a better idea of the total pricing is especially important because the board is working with city officials to secure bond financing for the construction.

In May, the board asked the city to secure $6 million in funding for the projects. At the time, the city had approximately $1 million in education sales tax proceeds that had been set aside for the project, and $750,000 had been secured through fundraising and other sources.

The bond will be repaid with a portion of the half-cent sales tax collected by the city on behalf of Andalusia City Schools.

A pre-bid conference is set for 10 a.m. on Tues., Oct. 17, according to a public notice published in The Star-News. The full notice may be read at alabamalegals.com.