By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Isabella High School is one step closer to getting a new multipurpose building.

The Chilton County Board of Education accepted a bid from Steel Built Systems for $99,800 for the building and $36,800 for the concrete foundation during a special called meeting on April 3.

Board President Lori Patterson and board members Keith Moore, Linda Hand, Curtis Smith, Jim Shannon and Joe Mims voted in favor of accepting the bid. Board member Pam Price voted against.

Price expressed concern that since the project had been re-bid the required two weeks for posting had not been fulfilled prior to the meeting.

Chilton County Schools Superintendent Tommy Glasscock was confident the timeline had been met.

“We hired an architect … and they follow all of the guidelines,” Glasscock said.

The multipurpose building will be used for physical education classes, weightlifting and possibly indoor batting cages.

Glasscock said he hopes construction will start as soon as possible.

The school’s booster club has raised around $60,000 or $70,000 which will be combined with school system funding for the building.

CCS Maintenance Supervisor Freddy Smith and his team will install the electrical, heat and air systems and plumbing for the building to save money.

In a previous interview, Smith said the department has employees skilled in these areas.

Time sensitivity of the bid necessitated the board calling a meeting rather than waiting until the regular scheduled meeting on April 17.

In an interview prior to the meeting, Glasscock said the company had guaranteed the price for seven days, but would have withdrawn the bill after that in anticipation of steel prices going up related to increased tariffs on steel.

The tariff on imported steel increased by 25 percent on March 23, following an announcement by President Donald Trump that the tariffs on imported steel and aluminum would be increased by 25 percent and 10 percent respectively.