School district to rebid construction projects
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Northwest Technical School SkillsUSA advisor Steve Holtman, shown at podium, provided an update this week to the Maryville R-II Board of Education with regard to activities being undertaken this year by the NTS chapter of the national organization for vocational and technical students. Pictured standing with Holtman, from left, are SkillsUSA members Jacob Bailey, Austin Richabaugh and Callie Files. Local SkillsUSA participants are currently preparing for competition March 26-28 against schools from across the state set to take place at the Technical College of Missouri in Linn.
As far as completion of a new performing arts center and second gymnasium at Maryville High School goes, the R-II School District has decided to drop back and punt.
At this week’s Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Larry Linthacum said that, after firing construction management firm Manning Construction late last year, the district has little choice but to reissue a request-for-proposal document in an effort to attract a new set of contractor bids.
The board voted to halt work on the high school expansion after costs for site preparation and construction of foundations and footings began to spiral out of control. Planned renovation of the cafe, kitchen and commons area at Eugene Field Elementary School is stalled as well.
All three projects, along with several smaller improvements at all three R-II campuses, are to be paid for with the proceeds of a $10.8 million bond issues approved by voters last spring.
The breaking point with Manning came after the low bid on the high school foundation work came in at $887,000, or $604,000 more than the original $270,000 estimate. That offer was rejected by the School Board.
Also rejected was a proposal by Manning to scale back the performing arts center auditorium from 700 seats to around 450 seats in an effort to get the project back on its fiscal track.
Linthacum said a number of factors led to the projected cost overruns, including the district’s original decision to go with a “construction management” company rather than a general contractor.
Though the two titles imply overlapping functions, a construction management firm generally has broader responsibilities that include working with engineers, architects, subcontractors, banks and attorneys in order to ensure that a project proceeds as smoothly as possible.
A general contractor, by contrast, is limited to overseeing actual construction and supervising subcontractors.
Linthacum said the district originally went with the construction management concept because more than one building was involved in the scope of work. In retrospect, he said, that was a mistake.
“At first we felt a construction manager was the route to go,” Linthacum said, “but hindsight is 20-20, and I take responsibility for that.”
The superintendent added that several other factors probably contributed to driving anticipated construction costs far higher than at first estimated, including the small number of initial bids, the district’s relatively short completion schedule, and an improving economy that is creating contractor demand.
At the same time, Linthacum said, many of those contractors have diminished capacity after laying off workers during the recession that they have yet to put back on the payroll.
“There just weren’t enough bidders,” Linthacum said. “Everyone knows that competition drives a sharper pencil.”
He added that a new request-for-proposals seeking a contractor to complete the remaining construction work is scheduled to go out March 2.
Linthacum said he is still hopeful that all of the proposed projects can be accomplished with the funds available, including entryway improvements on all three R-II campuses designed to improve security.
If that’s not possible, Linthacum said the performing arts center will remain the district’s top priority followed by the cafeteria expansion at Eugene Field and construction of the second MHS gymnasium.
With regard to the new gym, Linthacum had some good news. Government officials have informed the district that R-II is still in the running for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that would pay a large portion of the construction cost, provided the facility is built to specifications rendering it suitable for use as a community disaster shelter.
Last year, Linthacum said it appeared doubtful that any FEMA funds would be forthcoming, but that has changed.
“We are encouraged that we are still being considered for the grant,” he said Tuesday.
Assuming that construction resumes this spring, Linthacum said the performing arts center should be complete sometime during fall 2016.
In other business during the School Board’s regular Tuesday session, Linthacum, who is leaving this summer to assume the top administrative post with Jefferson City (Mo.) Public Schools, said the application period for his current position has closed, and that the district expects to hire his successor by Feb. 27.
In addition, the board approved fee increases for the Eugene Field Elementary School preschool program. The monthly full-day fee will increase from $315 to $355 in 2015-’16, and the half-day fee will go from $155 to $170. The hourly $2.40 fee charged parents for before- and after-school services is to remain unchanged.
Despite the price hike, Linthacum said anticipated loss of an $18,000 Missouri Preschool Project Grant means the program could still face a projected $8,900 deficit next year.
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Stalled in the face of projected cost overruns, construction of a new performing arts center at Maryville High School, the site of which is pictured here, is scheduled to resume this spring after the R-II School District Board of Education accepts a new set of bids from interested contractors. The board fired construction management firm Manning Construction late last year and is hopeful that a new round of bids will bring the project back in line with budget projections.
