A group of construction trade students have been working on the Fort Scott, Kan., golf course’s 2,000-sq. ft. clubhouse since late 2014. The exterior, including stone and brick work, should be completed by the end of the school year.
The city-owned Woodland Hills Golf Course in Fort Scott, Kan., is slowly beginning to take shape, the Fort Scott (Kan.) Tribune reported.
Since late 2014, a group of Fort Scott Community College Construction Trades students and their instructor, Kim Coates, have been working on an approximately 2,000-sq. ft. clubhouse that would eventually replace the current old clubhouse. The construction project is being funded through fundraisers and donations, the Tribune reported.
C&RB reported on the project’s plans in 2014 (“Woodland Hills GC Plans New Clubhouse“).
Members of the Golf Course Advisory Board met this week to get an update on progress on the clubhouse and to discuss timelines and finances related to the project. Coates said his students are currently working on the exterior of the clubhouse, including stone and brick work, and should have that part completed by the end of the current school year in May, the Tribune reported.
“Once the trim is on, we can do the siding in a day,” Coates said. “The goal is to be finished with the outside before school is out…there’s some grading and yard work to do.”
Board members discussed whether the clubhouse could be completed by the end of June if outside labor was brought in to help with the project. Currently, construction trades students have only been working minimal hours per week on the project since it started as part of the class, and some drive from out of town. The project has also experienced some weather delays, the Tribune reported.
The board discussed options and the feasibility of getting the project done by sometime this summer or the end of the year as a June completion date is not likely. “I think people know it’s a work in progress,” board member Dennis Davis said.
Board member Mitch Quick asked Coates for a “ballpark figure” if outside labor was hired to finish the inside of the clubhouse while construction trades students are not working on it. Coates said his program would provide sheet rock and gave an estimate of about $12,000 to $15,000 in labor costs to complete the clubhouse by this summer, the Tribune reported.
“I’m thinking why spend the extra money to have it done six months ahead of time?” board member Steve Harry said. “As nice as it would be to have that open.”
Jon Garrison, director of finance for the city, said the clubhouse project has received about $15,550 in personal donations to date and about $10,000 of that amount is “unspoken for,” or available to spend. Work still remaining for the inside of the clubhouse includes flooring, kitchen cabinets and furnishings. Board members said other work still remaining on the project includes concrete work, landscaping, electricity and installation of utilities, the Tribune reported.
“We’re trying to make it 100 percent quality work,” Coates said. “I think it will end up being a nice looking building.”
Davis said the project is providing a “win-win” situation for construction trades students and the golf course. “You do some teaching and we get a clubhouse,” he told Coates.
Board members asked Garrison about possible demolition of the current clubhouse but Garrison said there would likely be more discussion on that topic when the new facility is closer to being completed, the Tribune reported.
According to cost estimates provided by the city in August, construction of the clubhouse would cost $44,218, excluding other expenses such as plumbing and electrical contractors, cabinets and flooring. The construction trades students are performing all the labor for the project, the Tribune reported.
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