Diane Blevins Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Proceedings of the Board of Trustees District No. 2, Yellowstone County High School District No. 2, Yellowstone County Billings, Montana September 22, 2005 Call to Order The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2, Yellowstone County, Montana, and High School District, Yellowstone County, Montana, was duly held at The Lincoln Center, 415 North 30th Street, Billings, Montana, September 22, at 11:30 a.m. Those present included: Superintendent Rod Svee, Rich Whitney, Dave Williams, Sandra Mossman, Jeff Weldon, Kevin Croff, Kyra Gaskill, Kim Halverson, Jim Bauer, Joel Guthals, Malcolm Goodrich, and Thomas Harper. Rich Whitney reviewed the proposed cost figures for the elementary bond projects. The total of the projects was $10,000,000 and consisted of 23 contracted projects. Mr. Whitney reviewed the change orders for the elementary bond projects. The Central Heights ADA project was approximately 50% over the original budget and was completed in May, 4 months past the project completion date. The Highland project was moved to elementary building fund for $500,000 and the window projects were put on hold, which total $400,000. Rich Whitney reviewed the list of change orders for the elementary bond projects. The total for Orchard Elementary is $5,620,105 with the amount budgeted of $5,478,598. The Board had approved the contract amount subject to additional alternates necessary. Part of the overage is due to the fact the City required additional bathrooms and to remodel for safety doors in the old portion. The change orders for Orchard Elementary will be from $147,000-$200,000 and will be brought to the Board on Monday evening, September 26th. All change orders over $10,000 must come before the Board for approval. Change orders are made due to owner requested, unforeseen conditions or design errors and omissions. The change orders for Meadowlark are $65,000 but value engineering could lower it to $25,000. Trustee Goodrich asked if value engineering causes delays in the projects. Mr. Whitney stated it requires a little bit of time and may require approval by the City. There should be some updated pricing on Boulder in the near future. Superintendent Svee suggested a process be devised to determine what caused delays and who was responsible for the delays. Mr. Whitney felt he was receiving fair pricing from Fisher Construction and Hardy Construction but the change orders from General Contractors for Ponderosa are from $245,000-$263,000, which he felt was high. He felt legal staff should consider, if we continue to work on the project and move forward, how much will it weaken our bargaining position and does it become an assumed acceptance on the District’s part. Dave Williams suggested a letter be written to General Contractors recommending negotiating the price while the project continues. The change orders total approximately $600,000 with $360,000 in contingency, which would leave approximately $240,000 short. With the interest earned from the funds, there is an additional $227,000, which would leave the District $30,000-$40,000 short. Rich Whitney reminded those present the projects have barely begun and, normally, no contingency funds would have been used to this point. He also stated he received a letter from one of Bauer’s design teams indicating they had not received payment from Bauer. Mr. Whitney has requested lien releases with the pay request from the Bauer Group to protect the District. The pay requests received after those have not included any lien releases so Mr. Whitney has held those. Those payment requests total $48,000. Superintendent Svee suggested Jeff Weldon should look at possible exposure for the District. The District is current with its payment to the contractors. Trustee Guthals asked if the Little Miller Act or the construction lien statutes covered the District. Trustee Goodrich asked if they could receive a current assessment of where the District is on each project and also asked how they could get back on track. Mr. Whitney reported, if decisions are made at the Monday night meeting, Orchard and Meadowlark could proceed. If work were stopped on Ponderosa, they would be able to supply heat in the building and to winterize it. Mr. Whitney stated school could continue if work is stopped on Ponderosa. Trustee Goodrich stated they should also explore the possibility of notifying the contractor that the District has a problem proceeding forward and resolve the issue at a later date. He suggested referring Ponderosa over to administration and legal counsel to review the District’s option and report back to the Board. Trustee Goodrich wanted to make sure any steps are taken to move the project along be taken with the idea in mind that costs could be recouped down the road. Trustee Guthals suggested language be included in the change orders that it is not a waiver release against any other party that may be responsible. Trustee Mossman was concerned about Ponderosa for space. Dave Williams reported he would try to expedite it. Trustee Goodrich asked administration to continue to work to make sure all projects are expedited as quickly as possible. He also asked Rich Whitney to analyze the time delays, which could still place the District in the hole. Jim Bauer reported there are materials on hand to enclose the project at Boulder. The percentage of completion for the projects as of the end of August are: Ponderosa is 31%; 24% for Orchard; 28% for Boulder; and 31% for Meadowlark. Superintendent Svee reported administration would bring an evaluation process to the meeting Monday night that helps determine what caused the time overruns and if they are indeed overruns. Administration will also try to get a handle on the inflated prices. If the City caused the delay, they may share the liability. Rich Whitney reviewed the schedule information for the projects. The construction completion dates are: Orchard August 1, 2006; Meadowlark December 16, 2005; Ponderosa December 16, 2005, and Boulder is August 1, 2005. Mr. Whitney also reviewed the submittal log of the projects. Mr. Whitney reported they would take every value-engineering price that is in the best interest of the District. The meeting recessed at 1:00 p.m. and will reconvene on Wednesday, October 5th. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 Those present included Jeff Weldon, Kim Halverson, Dave Williams, Rich Whitney, Shane Swandal, Malcolm Goodrich, and Superintendent Rod Svee. Mr. Whitney reported he had several items for this meeting: the change requests for Ponderosa and Meadowlark; pay requests from the design team; additional correspondence from Bauer requesting more funding; status of letter from legal counsel; and, move forward with a constructability review to look at a set of designs by outside group. The change requests on Boulder were higher than Mr. Whitney expected. If the District had a firm come in and do an analysis on the systems in the design, we would not be surprised with any change orders. If a constructability review firm were hired, they would communicate with Rich. The City did not catch everything that did not meet code; a constructability review firm could find things that might have been missed. Trustee Goodrich suggested they run the full dollar concept by the Board and the schools. He asked if the District was insured or was a loss payee. Jeff Weldon will go back to look at the contract to determine the answer and to determine if it is $1,000,000 per project or for all four projects. Trustee Goodrich stated this committee would encourage the administration to proceed forward, that we give the architect notice of our concerns and the fact that we are not waiving any of our rights, and that we proceed forward on that basis and we expect him to comply vigorously with the contract. He also stated the constructability service should be brought before the Board as soon as possible. An RFP should be disseminated in the near future. The District should provide further written notice of defects. A Special Meeting of the Board will be called when the necessary information is available. Jeff Weldon reported the District has six projects of the bond projects with five contracts under two AIA forms, and four construction contracts and the issues we see are applicable to all of them. There have been changes in building codes and the value engineering that the District had requested. Jeff Weldon will review to determine the District’s rights in order to renew the error and omissions insurance. There is a dispute between the Bauer Group and the design teams. As payment has not been made to them from Bauer, it was suggested the Board recognize the design teams for their work. Rich Whitney asked if the District should pay subcontractors directly. Jeff Weldon responded it would be better if they filed a lien and the District could then pay them. It was further suggested the District should be receiving progressive lien releases. The meeting recessed at 1:45 and will reconvene on October 12, 2005. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 Those present included Sandra Mossman, Jeff Weldon, Superintendent Rod Svee, Joel Guthals, Rich Whitney and Malcolm Goodrich. Trustee Goodrich reported he spoke to Jim Bauer before the meeting. Mr. Bauer mentioned to him the mechanical issue should be determined by tomorrow and a good figure should be available for a possible solution. The steel delivery has been moved up to the second week of November. The meeting with General Contractors has been scheduled for Friday to go through the final analysis of their claim. Mr. Bauer had stated to Trustee Goodrich that there is a question whether the District is delaying or stopping construction at the Boulder project while the Board waits to make decisions. Rich Whitney felt the bottom line is until the change order is approved, the contractor cannot efficiently work at the school. Mr. Whitney did not feel Mr. Bauer ever clearly articulated the issue. Shane Swandel will meet with General Contracts on Friday morning to go through the final decisions on the change order for Ponderosa. The change order could be over $150,000. A Special Board Meeting may have to be scheduled to approve the change order. Jeff Weldon suggested the item be placed on the agenda for the October 17th meeting, which could be removed at the meeting if information is not available. Jeff Weldon reported he was working on the letter to Jim Bauer on the lack of errors and omissions and would include the District reserves its rights and insists on going forward. Trustee Goodrich asked to include a request for Mr. Bauer to provide the District with progressive lien releases from subcontractors. Jeff Weldon asked if the District was current on Bauer’s statements. Mr. Whitney stated he has not authorized anything since July. He has been receiving further statements from the Bauer Group requesting additional money and additional services. The current ones are $10,559.13 for Ponderosa, $5,595.25 for Boulder, Meadowlark is $8,753.50 and $19,606.38 for Orchard. Jeff Weldon requested copies of all invoices from Bauer and what the District has paid and not paid. Trustee Guthals stated in this letter to Mr. Bauer, we will demand full performance and cooperation, and we are going to ask him to give us assurances that he will perform. If the District does not get those assurances, we have a contractual breech from him, than we can hire another architect to proceed. Superintendent Svee reported the local government services from Bozeman are in Billings going through paperwork now. He suggested Larry Martin be asked to review the constructability review. The committee decided the following priorities: letter to Jim Bauer as soon as possible; develop an informational report; constructability review RFP; and, committee meeting on a weekly basis to study the various issues. The meeting recessed at 1:30 p.m. to reconvene on Wednesday, October 19, 2005. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 Those present included Superintendent Rod Svee, Jeff Weldon, Dave Williams, Jim Bauer, Kyra Gaskill, Rich Whitney, Shane Swandal, Joel Guthals and Malcolm Goodrich. Rich Whitney reviewed the letter received from General Contractors regarding the Ponderosa project. After a meeting with General Contractors, 70 items were close to being resolved on the change order. General Contractors suggested another contractor might be used if that firm could do the work any cheaper. Another issue addressed in the meeting was a change order versus a change directive. Shane Swandal reported chip sheeting was added to the order to bring it up to code. General Contractors was asking for $18,000 in labor, whereas Shane estimated the labor to be $6,700. Rudy Grossman would review his estimation before next week’s scheduled meeting. Shane Swandal stated the price of materials checked out. Superintendent Svee stated, by contract, General Contractors has to do the work and then mediation could occur. If he did not do the work, he would forfeit his bond. Jim Bauer felt General Contractors would push the issue as far as he could. When a letter is sent to General Contractors, it should contain the statement that the firm cannot change the schedule without approval. It was determined the change order on the 70 agreed upon items could be done with a change directive on the remaining 20 items. Mr. Svee suggested Shane should go into Monday’s meeting with the change order with an amount not to be exceeded. Shane Swandal suggested the work could be sliced up and done by District staff or bring in someone else but the relationship with General Contractors would probably deteriorate. Jeff Weldon did not see a problem in doing it in that manner. He stated the contract could be terminated for owner’s convenience and without cause. Trustee Guthals stated there is a Montana covenant of good faith and good deal. If General Contractors is engaging in that, it is a breech of covenant and the District would be due some damages. He felt it might be appropriate for the District to answer the letter and remind them of the contract. Jeff Weldon stated the District might have to follow the change order process before anything else is done. Trustee Goodrich suggested the District begin the change order/change directive process on the items agreed upon, sign and execute that change order, and for the items that have not been agreed upon, a change directive be issued pursuant to the contract with legal counsel preparing the necessary letter and language to reference the contract provisions and to go forward with that change directive to the extent that counsel deems it advisable to put in the number that the change directive should reflect. A cover letter should contain that number and the contract should be followed. This committee could agree to the change order of $35,137. In the Agenda Setting meeting, it was stated an update on elementary bond projects would be discussed at this meeting and it is an ongoing meeting. The Board has given the committee the authority to approve change orders. Trustee Goodrich stated there was agreement from the members present to approve the change order of $35,137 plus or minus any discrepancy agreed upon. He stated this item must be included on the next Board meeting and an update of the voting status must be received from the Board. Trustee Guthals felt he was able to vote, as this was a committee. Jeff Weldon stated, to make sure, the Board should affirm the action on the consent agenda. Dave Williams felt it should be an informational item, as the motion did not state it had to go back to the Board for approval. The meetings have been noticed as the Ad Hoc Subcommittee of the Board. Trustee Goodrich stated he would request the Board confirm the Ad Hoc at the next meeting. It was felt the Ad Hoc Committee consists of three Board members who are advisory to the owner/rep. It was determined Jeff Weldon would write a letter to Jim Bauer with Superintendent Svee’s signature, stating the District’s position on the General Contractors issue and Jim could attach a copy to his response to General Contractors. Shane Swandal reported he met with Ray Cucancic on the Boulder project and there were only 3 items of concern. Dave Williams stated he would like to see them get back to work on the project to complete it in a timely fashion. Cucanic has some issues with what they feel the District held them up on the project. Superintendent Svee was concerned that they pulled everyone off the job and was not working on anything at Boulder. Shane Swandal reported the problem was the steel and his supplier. Rich Whitney asked Jim Bauer to give him the dates of when Cucanic received the revisions. Rich Whitney reviewed the handout outlining the pay requests to the Bauer Group. Superintendent Svee shared the MSU-Bozeman letter with those present. The letter addressed the chronology of events in the construction projects. The meeting recessed at 1:35 p.m. and will reconvene on October 26th. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Those present included Dan Martin, Rich Whitney, Sandra Mossman, Jeff Weldon, Jim Bauer, Joel Guthals and Malcolm Goodrich. Trustee Goodrich stated the Board would decide on Friday if this group were an Ad Hoc or a Subcommittee. An Ad Hoc can make decisions and a subcommittee makes recommendations. Jeff Weldon felt the problem could be if someone wanted to challenge any decisions made by the Ad Hoc Subcommittee. He reported he has been working on a letter to Jim Bauer on the General Contractors issue. Jim Bauer reported the meeting with General Contractors on Monday went well. Rich Whitney stated the meeting at Ponderosa on Tuesday also went very well. He called the owner of General Contractors, Vic Reichenbach, and discovered the letter from Rudy Grossman was no longer an issue as items were done on Monday. However, the letter was not retracted. Mr. Whitney felt a letter should be sent to General Contractors stating that the four issues were no longer relevant. Trustee Guthals believed, until the letter has been retracted, there needed to be a response briefly addressing each of the points to show we do not agree. It should also state that we believe all of the matters have been resolved and we will not address them further, if they agree, they should advise. Trustee Goodrich stated the letter should also state, based on their conversation at the meeting there was an understanding, General Contractors have concurred the items were no longer an issue. Rich Whitney passed out copies of a change order for $58,046, which has already been signed by Jim Bauer and General Contractors. Rich will not be able to sign it until after the Board meeting on Friday. The $58,000 represents what was done last week plus additional issues from Monday’s meeting. There are still a couple of items that are outstanding and should be less than $40,000. Jeff Weldon felt the elementary trustees could approve the change order and have the Board ratify it on Friday. Trustee Goodrich recommended the trustees take a vote to approve. Trustee Mossman made the following motion with a second by Trustee Goodrich: Motion to approve the change orders in the amount of $58,046. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich and Sandra Mossman. High School Trustee Guthals stated he would have voted for the motion if he has Board approval to vote. The motion passed unanimously. Dan Martin reported Superintendent Svee would agree to something less than $68,000. Trustee Guthals thanked Jim Bauer, Rich Whitney and Shane Swandal for their work. Trustee Guthals suggested the motion be changed for the Superintendent or designated representative to be given the authority to approve the $150,000 subject to review. The members concurred. The motion passed was revised as follows: Motion to approve the change orders in the amount of $58,046 and give the Superintendent or designated representative the authority to approve the change order. Rich Whitney reported the structural steel for Meadowlark is expected in two weeks. He reviewed the change request for Boulder. The change order for Cucancic Construction is $55,514.69. There are still a few items on doors and windows that need to be revised. The final items should be available for approval in the near future. Trustee Mossman made the following motion with a second by Trustee Goodrich: Motion to approve the change order for the Boulder project in the amount of $55,514.69 subject to review of the numbers by administration and give the Superintendent or designated representative the authority to approve the change order. Those voting in favor were Sandra Mossman and Malcolm Goodrich. Joel Guthals voted for the motion in the event he has the authority. The motion passed unanimously. Rich Whitney gave copies of the updated project sheets to the trustees. Trustee Goodrich asked for an update at next week’s meeting on contingency funds, including interest earned and anything left over from the change orders to date. Trustee Goodrich will verify with Jeff Weldon to determine if the information must be supplied 48 hours prior to the meeting. The projected completion dates for the projects are: Ponderosa March 16, 2006; Boulder April 14, 2006; Meadowlark April 14, 2006; and, Orchard October 10, 2006. Trustee Mossman request a celebration or open house be held when the projects are completed. There is 55% completed in the project at Ponderosa. The committee felt some type of PR needed to be done to show the public that things are moving along in the projects. The meeting recessed at 1:00 p.m. and will reconvene on November 2nd. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 Those present included Joel Guthals, Shane Swandel, Ray Cucancic, Linda Bakken, Dave Williams, Laura Tode, Rich Whitney, Jim Bauer, Malcolm Goodrich and Jim Tarr. Rich Whitney reviewed the status report of expenditures for the elementary bond projects. Trustees Goodrich and Guthals made suggested changes to the report before the information is shared with the full Board and the public. The interest earned to date is $179,541.88. The total for change orders is $314,466.66 with the contingency fund at $561,449.42. If there are no weather delays, the estimated completion dates are October 10, 2006 for Orchard, May 21, 2006 for Meadowlark, April 14, 2006 for Boulder and Rose Park, and March 16, 2006 for Ponderosa. Orchard should be closed in by Thanksgiving. The steel for Meadowlark is expected to arrive in the second week of November. The structural steel order for Boulder was transmitted today and will take one to three weeks to arrive on site. Mr. Whitney stated Ponderosa should be enclosed in the next two to three weeks. Orchard is currently one month ahead of schedule with the plan to have the students in the new section in the fall. Trustee Guthals reported he toured the sites and was impressed that the delivery of school had not been interrupted by the construction. Rich Whitney reported Linda Bakken, Orchard Principal, was present to discuss shelving. Additional shelving is approximately $80,000, which has been approved and is included in the total. Library shelving at approximately $45,000-$50,000 was not included in the original project. District staff has determined the existing shelving could not be reused. There were no more available funds for the required library shelving. Trustee Goodrich was concerned on the use of contingency funds for the shelving, as change orders are still being submitted. He felt construction should continue on the shelving included in the project but to wait on the library shelves to determine where the projects are currently. It was suggested private funding could be used to pay for the library shelving. Trustee Goodrich recommended waiting until spring to decide on the library shelving, as the five projects should be completed. Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Goodrich: Move that we do not approve the addition of library shelving to the construction project at Orchard and that we do not approve the additional classroom shelving at Orchard School. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich and Joel Guthals. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Move to keep tabs on the shelving issues. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich and Joel Guthals. The motion passed unanimously. Negotiations with Cucancic Construction on the Rose Park project are being completed and a timeline for the project will be developed. Ray Cucancic stated he would familiarize himself with the change in the plans and work would begin immediately. Trustee Goodrich stated the Rose Park issue will be discussed further at next week’s meeting. Trustee Goodrich reported the constructability item would be discussed at next week’s meeting. The meeting recessed at 1:30 p.m. to reconvene on November 9th. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9, 2005 Those present included Shane Swandel, Dave Williams, Rich Whitney, Laura Tode, Joel Guthals, Jim Bauer, and Malcolm Goodrich. Rich Whitney reviewed the revised elementary bond projects spreadsheet. Trustee Guthals felt the Board should approve the amounts for the projects including the design fees and legal fees. Trustee Goodrich felt a column should be included as to what has been spent of the total and what percentage of project completion has been reached. Rich Whitney will supply a summary sheet and also a form for completed projects and work in progress report. Rich Whitney presented the Board members with a Request for Proposal for a constructability review. Dave Williams reported he would feel better if there were a constructability review process to determine the end result. There is no additional money for a constructability review unless it would guarantee a savings in the projects. Trustee Goodrich felt an RFP could be submitted to see what is received in reply, as it is an independent audit function. The review could address safety issues and prevent any code violations. Trustee Guthals felt the administration should go ahead with the RFP and then have the Board decide. Trustee Goodrich felt it would be hard to render a decision until the Board reviews the proposals. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Move that we recommend to administration that we submit an RFP and bring back the results to the Board. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich and Joel Guthals. The motion passed unanimously. Rich Whitney will meet with Superintendent Svee to plan the RFP. Jim Bauer stated constructability reviews work best when the project is still in the beginning stages of design. Trustees Goodrich and Guthals stated it did not mean the committee would approve the constructability. Rich Whitney reported there is a problem with the roof portion of the project at Ponderosa. Jim Bauer stated the product that was delivered to the site did not include a covering to solve the problem of ensuring a watertight roof. The product did not match the plans. Jim Tarr is working with Dustin Grossman to solve the problem. Rich Whitney was grateful to the roofer who stepped forward to say it would not be watertight. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Move to advise the administration to have this resolved by 5:00 p.m. today. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich and Joel Guthals. The motion passed unanimously. Rich Whitney reported the structural steel for Boulder should arrive next week. He also reported the cabinetwork at Meadowlark and Ponderosa is not very good and was not what had been requested. Dave Williams suggested Shane and Rich should meet and come up with a recommendation for the work done by the subcontractor. Shane Swandel felt one remedy would be to force the contractor to make it good. Jim Bauer felt they should tell the general contractor that they are dissatisfied with the cabinets. Trustee Goodrich stated they should be told now before any more cabinets are installed. Dave Williams reported changes need to be made in the names of the schools to clear up the language. There are new principals at some schools this year. The trustees did not see any problem in changing the names. Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Goodrich: Motion that we approve the execution of the change in language. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich and Joel Guthals. The motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business, the meeting recessed at 1:30 p.m. to reconvene on November 16th. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 Those present included Sandra Mossman, Rod Svee, Rich Whitney, Jim Bauer, Dave Williams, Laura Tode, and Malcolm Goodrich. Joel Guthals was on speakerphone. Rich Whitney presented the charts for the elementary bond projects. Revisions were suggested and would be made before being presented to the Board on November 21st. Joel Guthals suggested a progress report also be given to the Board as well as a report on what has occurred during the past month and the dollars saved on the change orders. Malcolm Goodrich recommended information also be given to the Board showing the amount of the original change orders and the ending amount after being reviewed by Shane Swandel. Rich Whitney reported Orchard is all but enclosed now and Meadowlark is moving along well. Sandra Mossman suggested the positive things be emphasized in the presentation to the Board. The meeting recessed at 12:30 and will reconvene at a date to be announced. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 Those in attendance included Superintendent Rod Svee, Joel Guthals, Dave Williams, Sandra Mossman, Laura Tode, Jim Bauer, Shane Swandel, Malcolm Goodrich and Rich Whitney. Rich Whitney reviewed the change orders for Ponderosa in the amount of $35,023. It had been reduced from $264,000 of which a change order for $58,046 had previously been approved. There are still 2 change orders to follow which should be a little less than $35,000 for one and $6,000-$8,000 for the other change order. The total of the change orders for Ponderosa will be less than one-half of what was originally proposed. The project will be in the black once these change orders are submitted. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Mossman: Motion to approve the change order on Ponderosa in the amount of $35,023. Those voting in favor were Joel Guthals, Malcolm Goodrich and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. The Boulder change order is $55,514.79. There will be more change orders before the project is completed. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Motion to approve the change order for Boulder in the amount of $55,514.69. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Rich Whitney reported he had requested an RFP for the constructability review. CTA Architects from Billings and 3D/I from Phoenix submitted bids. Dave Williams and Rich Whitney felt it would be better to go with a completely unrelated entity in 3D/I. Rich reported he would like to set down with 3D/I and have them look at a small project to start with. Rod Svee was not sure why a review is being done now, as it is late in the projects. Rich felt it would have accountability for the public. Joel Guthals reported the committee wanted to determine if there were any claims for recovery. Mr. Svee suggested they should look at what the constructability review would cost versus what could be gained. Trustee Goodrich felt they should look forward, not backward, as it would not be productive. It could also be done after the construction is completed. Trustee Goodrich stated he would want to know what it would cost. Mr. Svee suggested they look at a scope of service first. Trustee Guthals felt the review should be done if it is affordable, both backward and forward. Trustee Goodrich suggested Rich and Rod should meet with legal counsel on the scope of service. It was hoped the information would be available for the January 4th meeting. Rich will meet with the Superintendent and Jeff Weldon. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Mossman: Motion that we proceed to the next step of the constructability review which would be to get a quote from the Phoenix based firm and potential benefits that it might give to the District looking both forward and backward in the construction business and request the administration to prepare a scope of work. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. Rich Whitney reviewed the handouts regarding pay requests to the Bauer Group. Superintendent Svee felt the payments should be made. Trustee Guthals agreed but suggested Jeff Weldon review it first. Jim Bauer stated, if he is paid 50% of the amount due, he pays the subcontractor 50% of his fee. Trustee Goodrich suggested administration should meet with Jeff Weldon, as he also felt the payment should be made. He wanted to make sure the District would not get hit with a lien. Trustee Mossman also suggested the issue regarding the parking lot at Orchard also be reviewed with Jeff Weldon and Larry Martin to determine how to resolve the matter. Trustee Guthals reported he has an attorney/client conflict of interest with regards to Engineering Inc and would abstain from voting on that issue, if necessary. It was decided it would be left to administration and legal counsel. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Mossman: Motion to make payment to Bauer Group to bring it up to compliance with the contract without injuring our right and in conformity with recommendation of legal counsel that we do so. Those voting in favor were Malcolm Goodrich, Joel Guthals and Sandra Mossman. The motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business, the meeting recessed and will reconvene on January 11th, 2006. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11th, 2006 Those present included Dave Williams, Nancy Hines, Superintendent Rod Svee, Shane Swandel, Rich Whitney, Trustees Joel Guthals and Sandra Mossman. Malcolm Goodrich was absent Trustee Guthals chaired the meeting. A quorum was present. Rich Whitney reported he would have the pros and cons of conducting a construct ability study for the next meeting. He reported the interest earned as of January 1, 2006 was $305,000 and the projects are currently in the black. There were no new change orders for Ponderosa and Boulder. There was a $25,000 contingency on Orchard and change orders are expected on that project. Trustee Mossman asked how the playground would be addressed at Orchard. Mr. Whitney reported schools have been told to keep a list of unfunded wants and needs. There is a list of owner supplies items that the District would purchase in order to open the school. Library shelving is also an item that will need to be addressed. Existing desks will be used in the new classrooms. The playground is not a funded project. Trustee Guthals wanted to make sure the funds for owner supplied items was protected. He also reported it is possible to have a carpet lease which would save a lot of money. Carpet is then replaced by the square instead of an entire room or section. Trustee Mossman asked about the parking lot at Orchard. Mr. Whitney reported a meeting had not taken place as of this date but it will be addressed. Another issue to be addressed by legal counsel is the pay issue by Bauer to the subcontractors. Also, a lien has been filed on Meadowlark due to an unsigned check to one supplier. Trustee Guthals reported the committee would schedule a meeting when there is a need to make a decision on the projects. Trustee Mossman wanted to make sure there are celebrations on the completion of the projects. It was the consensus that ribbon cutting ceremonies would be held on each project. Shane Swandel reported there have been three different hardware changes made by Jim Bauer. He was not sure if enough had been received back due to the change, but he was looking into that issue. It was determined if there were not enough funds left to finish the projects, building reserve funds or general budget funds would be used. Trustee Guthals suggested the report to the Board should include a statement that all projects are in the black and it is expected there will be more change orders before the completion of the projects. The meeting recessed at 1:25 p.m. and would reconvene at a time to be announced. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 2nd, 2006 Those present included Trustees Sandra Mossman, Joel Guthals, Malcolm Goodrich, Superintendent Rod Svee, Rich Whitney, Shane Swandel, Jim Bauer, Dave Veeder, and Jeff Weldon. Rich Whitney reviewed the estimated costs to complete the elementary bond projects. The interest earned in February on the $10,000,000 elementary bond is $17,825.47. There is $104,085.38 that has not been encumbered or committed to a specific portion of the project. As the projects are being completed, the owner supply funds will be expended. There is $267,496.72 for Orchard for owner-supplied items, $32,000 for Boulder, and $63,000 for Ponderosa. $62,968 is listed for Meadowlark but Jim Bauer was reviewing his records to double check that amount as the Board approved estimates for owner supplied items is $37,969.40. There were additional heating costs at Meadowlark and Ponderosa. Shane Swandel, project owner rep, reported a change directive was put into place with General Contractors as they had requested an additional 30 days even though the work had been completed. The District did not agree to the extension, which resulted in the change directive. General Contractors were paid $25,219. The other two change orders were for range hoods that the City is requiring. The cost of the range hood for Meadowlark is $6,805 and $9,462 for Orchard. The range hood for Ponderosa would be addressed at a later date since General Contractors had submitted a bid that was too high. Mr. Swandel reported he is still working on the supervision portion of a change order for General Contractors. Trustee Goodrich asked where the District was on getting a payment to Jim Bauer. Rich Whitney reported a check was issued last Friday for a little over $26,000. There is still an outstanding balance of approximately $30,000 that is comparable to the unresolved liability of Engineering Inc. and Con’eer Engineering Inc. Superintendent Svee stated the motion on December 22nd gave administration the authority to make the payment to Jim Bauer. It was agreed Rod would meet with Jim Bauer. The committee had given administration the authority to make the payment, subject to a review by Rod. Rich Whitney reported the cabinetwork at Ponderosa does not meet the project specs and they need to be done appropriately. General Contracts, also, did not believe the cabinets were up to the specifications. It was agreed the cabinetwork would be addressed administratively. A supplier to the cabinet subcontractor has filed a lien due to the fact he has not been paid. Mr. Bauer felt the lien had been filed against the property, not the bond. Trustee Guthals stated the lien must be filed against the elementary bond, not the property, so it would not be deemed to be a legal lien. As there was no further business, the meeting recessed at 12:45 p.m. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3, 2006 Those present included Trustees Malcolm Goodrich and Joel Guthals, Shane Swandel, Rich Whitney, and Dave Williams. Shane Swandel reported the price for the alcoves at Orchard, which were budgeted at $56,000, are $53,375. The cabinet for the teachers’ lounge is $622, which was included in a change order. The remodel portion at Orchard has not begun as of this date. The alcoves were included in the plan as owner supplied. Trustee Goodrich was concerned as the alcoves are a large ticket item and the mill levies failed. He suggested a less expensive way be found to avoid going in the red. Trustee Guthals recommended Rich Whitney meet with Linda Bakken to find a less expensive way to provide areas for student books and coats. It was suggested hooks and shelves could be used. Rich Whitney reported there are still $70,000 outstanding in change orders for Ponderosa, and a change order for Meadowlark, and other unknowns for the Orchard remodel. There are also significant concerns at Boulder. Mr. Whitney voiced his concern of the possibility of ending up $100,000 in the red. Rich Whitney reported there is a liability issue as water is dripping on to the stairs, as there are no rain gutters. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Motion to table until Rich meets with the principal and come up with an alternative plan. Those voting in favor were Joel Guthals and Malcolm Goodrich. The motion passed unanimously. Trustee Guthals made the following motion with a second by Trustee Goodrich: Motion to request the Facilities Department to consult with the principal and provide plans for hooks and shelves, or other cost saving alternative. Those voting in favor were Joel Guthals and Malcolm Goodrich. The motion passed unanimously. The Skyview bond money is being saved for the highest priorities and emergency projects. Shane Swandel reported the change order for Meadowlark is $27,684 and is for items that must be done in order to obtain an occupancy permit. The change order includes site work change, as the civil design would not work as it was set up. Asphalt will be installed in order to keep the water away from the building at a cost of $9,216. $3,292 is included in the change order for handrails on the ADA ramp, as well as $5,500 for cabinets in the art room, $800 for extra circuits in the classrooms, $3,500 for tile in the hallways leading to the art room, sound board in the walls between classrooms, relocating outlets to get them outside of the casework, outlets in the clear story, GSI outlets on the roof, and tile in the area where the alcoves were to go. Trustee Goodrich made the following motion with a second by Trustee Guthals: Move to approve the items in the change order #5 for Meadowlark School. Those voting in favor were Joel Guthals and Malcolm Goodrich. The motion passed unanimously. The total for change orders for Meadowlark is $82,802 with $99,526 budgeted contingency. Additional costs expected are $9,000 for the Boulder pits, $1,000 for a utility sink, and $4,000 for the mezzanine over the mechanical area. Trustee Goodrich suggested a hold be placed on items except for anything that affects life, limb or occupancy. Rich Whitney reported he would have a meeting with the original design committees at each site to gain feedback. The change order for Boulder will be coming forward as well as the winter costs for the projects. There is a hold on the constructability review. As there was no further business, the meeting recessed at 11:00 p.m. The Ad Hoc Committee meeting of the Board of Trustees of School District No. 2 reconvened at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 Those in attendance included Rich Whitney, Jim Bauer, Associate Superintendent Jack Copps, Kevin Croff, Kathy Olson, Shane Swandel, Linda Bakken, Dave Williams, Bob Bentz, and Trustee Joel Guthals. As there was no quorum, a meeting would be scheduled next week with the remaining two trustees. Information would be received at this meeting and shared with the other trustees. Jim Bauer reported on the current status of the owner-supplied items for the elementary bond projects. Universal Athletic Service is unable to do the supports for the backboards so the cost will have to be added into the estimate. Other items needed at Orchard are the wall pads, the divider net and the bleachers. The District has approved the carpeting and flooring, which has been ordered. There are two rooms left at Boulder that need the flooring to be completed. Rich Whitney stated the District needs to know about the delivery date for the cafeteria. Round tables have been ordered out of the end of the year budget. Mr. Whitney felt a meeting should be scheduled for the first part of July to receive a report on delivery dates for supplies. The gym floor at Orchard cannot be finished until the backboards are in place as the lines for the court are drawn from the backboards. It was decided that Rich Whitney and Dave Williams would approve the order for the backboards in order to prevent any further delay. Trustee Guthals stated he could recess the meeting until 5:15 when he and Trustee Goodrich could give authorization for the backboard order. Trustee Guthals asked if the lawn at Orchard could be hydro-seeded instead of sodding in order to save. The problem would be in watering and keeping people off of the area. Trustee Guthals asked for a bid on hydro-seeding. There were no window treatments listed on the owner-supplied list at Orchard. Mr. Whitney will have his staff get bids for Orchard. Also at Orchard, playground equipment is on hold until more is known on other items. Rich Whitney reviewed the owner-supplied balance sheet. The MDU charges for Meadowlark and Ponderosa were due to the delay in construction as there was no provision for heat over the winter months. The change order for Orchard includes temporary cover for heat for masonry and downtime for the roofers for $16,930. The change order for Ponderosa is ready to be taken to the contractor to sign off. It includes circuit modules for $7,482 and office time requested by the contractor, which is being disputed by the District. The contractor is requesting $33,709 whereas Shane Swandel felt $12,943 was more realistic. Rich Whitney has requested that General Contractors come before this committee with their request for a settlement. The contractors have agreed they would honor the decision of the committee. The meeting will be held on July 5th or July 12th for a decision. Shane Swandel stated General Contractors is requesting more than 33%. He reported the District has given them a lot of things for overhead and felt the request needs to be in the 10-12% range. The change order for Boulder is for marker boards and lights in two offices for $3,294.18. The Meadowlark change order is for weatherization and roofing items. There are also two close out items for $416 and a handrail modification for $257. The roofing, siding and weatherization are approximately $14,000. Shane Swandel estimated the entire change order for Meadowlark should be approximately $30,000 total including the weatherization. The wall tile for Orchard is $18,364, an additional outlet in the server room for $271, and move the water heater on the west side to the furnace room, which would cost $865. Shane Swandel reported there was $7200 left for contingency for Orchard for incidentals, but there will be change orders in July and August for the remodel portion. Additional asbestos was found at Orchard during the remodel, which resulted in a removal cost of $14,000. Linda Bakken, Orchard Principal, reported cubbies are needed at Orchard due to the lice issue. Some of the old cubbies are being used from the old portion, but there is still a need for 7 more rooms. Ms. Bakken suggested the District carpenters complete the additional 7 rooms. Trustee Guthals recommended materials be purchased locally to construct the cubbies. Linda Bakken reported Orchard also needs library shelving. Trustee Guthals suggested the meeting be adjourned and reconvened at 5:15 in order to gain approval from a quorum of the committee. Kevin Croff, Meadowlark Principal, reported Meadowlark needs shelves and hooks for the new classrooms. Those present addressed the letter from Kim Halverson, Boulder principal. The temporary occupancy permit has been received from the city and the carpet will be laid next week. Shane Swandel reported there is a non-performance issue by the contractor at Boulder. Jim Bauer will conduct a walk through tomorrow to check on the project. A progress report will be available at the next meeting. The meeting adjourned at 2:05 p.m. and will reconvene at 5:00. Malcolm Goodrich, Chair Diane Blevins, Recorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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