Section 180.540  Cost Estimates

a)         Administration and implementation of this Subpart require that many costs be estimated and certified as a prerequisite to approval of proposed work or determination of the applicability of particular rules.  The following standards and procedures are to be used where certification of cost estimates is required.

b)         All cost estimates shall be based upon published price guides such as those compiled by R. S. Means Company, Inc., Frank Walker Company, and McGraw-Hill Cost Information Systems.

1)         The source of the cost figures shall be specifically identified by title, publisher, and period of effectiveness.

2)         The cost factors to be used shall be the mean or median costs published for such construction nationally.

3)         These raw cost estimates shall be adjusted by applying the appropriate inflation factors, size adjustment factors, and regional cost adjustment factors.

4)         The estimate shall be based upon the work to be performed as described in the violation and recommendation schedule.

5)         The estimate shall specify the unit or units of measure, the quantity of such units necessary, and the unit cost installed.

6)         A total of estimated costs must be provided, along with a general breakdown.

7)         The resulting figure shall be referred to as the Adjusted Gross Estimated Cost.

c)         Estimates of the replacement cost of a school shall be based upon the cost of constructing a new building of equal size, serving like grades, and for the same programmatic purposes as the facility to be replaced.  The procedure is as follows.

1)         Determine the type of school to be built based upon its classification as derived from the school's enrollment reported to the State Board as of the last school day in September of the immediately preceding school year.

2)         Determine the size of the school to be built, based upon the square footage of the school to be replaced.

3)         Multiply the square footage of the school to be built by the appropriate square-foot cost factor.

A)        The published cost factor for elementary schools shall be used for preschools, kindergartens, and elementary schools.

B)        The published cost factor for junior high/middle schools shall be used for schools housing various combinations of grades 5 through 9.

C)        The published cost factor for high schools shall be used for schools housing combinations of grades 9 through 12.

4)         The resulting figure shall be referred to as the Adjusted Gross Estimated Replacement Cost of the school.

d)         For purposes of estimating costs related to energy conservation measures, the procedures outlined in "ASTM Standards on Building Economics, Fifth Edition," published by the American Society for Testing and Materials (2004; 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-1187), shall be used.  No later amendments to or editions of these standards are incorporated by this rule.

1)         In addition, the sources of heating degree days, cooling degree days, and energy consumption data, and the basis for determining the efficiency of existing systems and equipment and their useful lifetimes shall be noted.

2)         Where Fire Prevention and Safety Funds are to be used to finance all or part of energy conservation measures, the payback period calculations must show that payback can be achieved over the useful lifetime of the proposed measure or 20 years, whichever is less.

(Source:  Amended at 33 Ill. Reg. 15265, effective October 20, 2009)