Colfax school board postpones decision on SDS Architects until November 21
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Colfax Board of Education agreed at a special meeting November 17 to postpone making a decision on a proposal from SDS Architects until November 21.
The proposal from SDS Architects out of Eau Claire is for design work related to $7.2 million in school improvement projects approved by voters in the school district during the November 8 referendum.
The estimated construction cost in the proposal for design services is $5.8 million.
The fee that would be charged by SDS Architects is listed as $476,000, which would cover complete design and engineering services.
SDS Architects would serve as construction administrators but not as a construction manager, said Tom Twohig of SDS.
SDS would “take an active role from beginning to end,” he said, and noted that the fee for SDS is based on a percentage of the construction cost.
The estimated construction costs would be $1.25 million for a 7,000 square-foot addition to replace the temporary classrooms; $2 million for improvements to building infrastructure; $700,000 for a bus maintenance building; $1.1 million for tech ed/Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) renovation; and $650,000 to improve safety and security.
The referendum amount approved by voters on a margin of 70 percent “yes” to 30 percent “no” also includes $600,000 for six propane buses and $400,000 to pay off the school district’s unfunded pension liabilities.
The proposal included a timeline that shows how construction could be completed by the beginning of the school year in August of 2017: an architect’s contract approved in November; schematic design completed in December; design development complete in February of 2017; construction documents complete and bidding completed in April of 2017; construction would start in May of 2017; and the projects would be completed by August of 2017.
Four months will be plenty of time to complete construction in the absence of any major problems, Twohig said.
Work could begin on the new classrooms without disrupting school operations, he pointed out.
Bill Yingst, school superintendent, asked for Twohig’s opinion on also hiring a construction manager.
The school district could hire a construction manager who is completely separate from SDS Architects, or the general contractor could provide construction management services, Twohig said, adding that he would send a list of “pros” and “cons” for hiring a construction manager to Yingst.
Andy De Moe, school board member, asked about the cost of a construction manager.
The cost ranges from 1.5 percent of the project to 3 percent, Twohig said.
Yingst said he has already begun to research construction managers and has found a variety of answers on whether it is beneficial.
Kyle Knutson, school board member and the general manager of the fuel division at Cedar Country Cooperative, said the cooperative had used a construction manager on a recent multi-million project and that the construction manager had generated enough cost savings to more than pay for the construction manager’s fee, and had, in fact, likely saved double the fee on a $5 million project.
Ken Neuburg, school board member, said he would like to see the list of pros and cons for a construction manager before making a decision.
Jodi Kiekhafer, school board member, asked if a construction manager would relieve some stress for Yingst.
A construction manager would act as the point of contact and someone to handle problems, Yingst said.
Colfax Board of Education members agreed they would like to see the list of pros and cons first and agreed to postpone making a decision on the SDS proposal and on the issue of hiring a construction manager until the November 21 regular monthly meeting.