October 1, 2013 at 12:30 PM - Special Meeting of the Columbus Public Schools Board of Education

Discussion:  Becher excused.

Discussion:  Goos arrived at 12:36 and joined the meeting.

Discussion:  Superintendent Dr. Troy Loeffelholz said he is currently doing presentations to staff for input on what to do with CPS facilities. There will be presentations on Oct. 8th and 15th at 7 p.m. at the American Legion to get input from the community. He said for the next round, there will be one option presented to the groups. Alan Dostal said the Board needs input on what it will take to get a bond issue passed.

Discussion:  Pat Phelan said DLR is committed to doing a Guaranteed Maximum Price if that is what the board would like, but things will need to be worked out first. Phelan said as a company, DLR needs to limit some of their liability. He said they don't have the ability to control cost like a construction manager. Phelan said he is willing to commit some money, but there is a limit. Dostal said the board wants to interact with the community and patrons to find out if they will support building a new high school or new middle school, but they don't want to spend a lot of money to get there. He asked Phelan what would it take to get from where the district is today to help patrons get to a point of making a decision regarding a new high school or new middle school. Dostal questioned if it would be better to use a construction manager or cost estimator to determine the price tag? Phelan said he has done some middle and high school projects recently, so he can have an accurate estimation of the costs. He said DLR would be willing to put in the pre-bond cost, which is estimated at $85,000 plus an additional $5,000 if there needs to be a higher level of documentation to put a Guaranteed Maximum Price, but there would need to be more details. Phelan said he is confident DLR can do a prototype to give a construction manager an estimated starting point for the cost. He said this would allow for a base level cost for a new middle school or new high school. Phelan said it would be helpful if there was a construction manager or cost estimator present at this time. He said the construction manager has the opportunity to control cost as the project goes forward. Phelan said this needs to be a team effort. He said the challenge with a construction manager is reducing barriers to a collaborative approach. Ken Curry said historically he has been impressed with DLR and likes the teamwork and confidence portrayed. Phelan said part of the challenge was finding out how to make it all work in a 45-minute conversation. Dr. Loeffelholz asked if there was a Guaranteed Maximum Price with a construction manager or after the bond issue, how would it look to DLR? He also asked if the district does a design bid build project how does that work with a construction manager? Phelan said when setting a bond issue with a Guaranteed Maximum Price, there has to be some flexibility on the quality and systems in the buildings to make sure to stay within the budget. Francis Kuehler said it doesn’t matter to him if there is a Guaranteed Maximum Price because there wasn’t one last time. He said to him, a Guaranteed Maximum Price doesn’t mean much if you keep the cost down by buying less quality materials. Phelan said it could be worked out that if the project goes over DLR could pay a certain amount of the cost. He said what that dollar amount is can be negotiated. Phelan said DLR needs to have a cap on their liability. CPS Lawyer Rex Schultze said 10 percent pre or post bond risk is something that has been used in the past. He said DLR would need to establish the maximum exposure the company wanted to take, and if the project runs over the Guaranteed Maximum Price, DLR would be responsible for 10 percent up to a maximum dollar amount. Phelan said DLR could agree to such terms. He said there needs to be a lid on it because DLR doesn't have a way to recoup their money like a construction manager. He said they may also be willing to cover change orders up to a certain percentage. Schultze said DLR could keep track of costs and set off any obligation at the end of the project. Phelan said hopefully an agreement could be made that is simple and clean for everybody. Dostal said there needs to be great clarity upfront. He asked if there is a difference in DLR’s fees if the district decided to do a site adapt plan. Phelan said if DLR can find a building that meshes well with what CPS wants for a middle or high school, a site adapt plan could be used. He said with this option, in the end the fee would be lower. Dr. Loeffelholz asked DLR to find some adaptable buildings to look at. Schultze said the cost of the buildings must also be taken into consideration. He said what Dr. Loeffelholz is talking about is the district wants to go to meetings with a fairly tight concept of what the cost will be. Phelan said DLR has a lot of examples to bring to the table.