School bids come in too high, project will be
re-bid
By Joe Pritchett
Clarion Editor
Bids for the new elementary school planned for the Ball-Chatham School District have come in
about $5 million over budget, forcing some changes to be made.
First, the project will be scaled back as much as possible, keeping the same building square
footage. And the firms involved with the project (Ittner, Gilbane and Hanson) have agreed to complete
the design and specification changes at no additional cost to Ball-Chatham.
All bids were declined, and the board is now expected to award the revised bids May 5. The delay
is not expected to affect the opening of the new school, which is slated for August 2011. The school
will be located just west of Glenwood High School off Plummer Blvd.
Estimates for the elementary school project were put at $12.8 million, but bids came in at $17.8
million. Supt. Bob Gillum issued two separate statements on the issue, here is the first:
"The K-4 project has been of grave concern since the day of bid opening. The unforeseen
premium value of the collective bids made the project nearly impossible to recommend.
The principal partners in the design (Dennis Young of Ittner, Doug Lim of Gilbane and Gary Clack
of Hanson Engineering) have worked diligently with the district to find resolution and although it is my
duty and formal recommendation to the Ball-Chatham Board of Education that we respectfully decline
all bids, I encourage the following action: Decline all bids and provide a provision that allows for
professional firms we employed an opportunity to share their recommendations for moving the
project forward."
Lim said he was "shocked" that the bids came in so high, and other representatives from
construction manager Gilbane proposed some re-design recommendations that could potentially
save $3.8 million in estimated costs. Also, the project will be re-bid in two phases - site excavation,
concrete, site pavement and site utilities, then on to structural exterior.
Proposed changes to the design include one entrance to the building, parking lot size reduction
and plans for Acacia Lane to be extended to the school site and used as a service road could be in
jeopardy. Other changes include: load-bearing block walls instead of steel, scaling back some
aesthetic features and cheaper light fixtures, among others.
Gillum's second statement reads, "After hearing the team recommendations to re-frame the bid
packages with specified design modifications and re-bid the project in the coming weeks, I am
recommending this option as it presents the possibility of moving forward at no additional cost to the
district. The principals of these firms (Gilbane, Ittner and Hanson) have agreed to complete the
design and specification changes at their cost, symbolizing a sincere interest in our community. I
applaud their offer to remedy what began as a potentially costly decision to re-design and bid again."
re-bid
By Joe Pritchett
Clarion Editor
Bids for the new elementary school planned for the Ball-Chatham School District have come in
about $5 million over budget, forcing some changes to be made.
First, the project will be scaled back as much as possible, keeping the same building square
footage. And the firms involved with the project (Ittner, Gilbane and Hanson) have agreed to complete
the design and specification changes at no additional cost to Ball-Chatham.
All bids were declined, and the board is now expected to award the revised bids May 5. The delay
is not expected to affect the opening of the new school, which is slated for August 2011. The school
will be located just west of Glenwood High School off Plummer Blvd.
Estimates for the elementary school project were put at $12.8 million, but bids came in at $17.8
million. Supt. Bob Gillum issued two separate statements on the issue, here is the first:
"The K-4 project has been of grave concern since the day of bid opening. The unforeseen
premium value of the collective bids made the project nearly impossible to recommend.
The principal partners in the design (Dennis Young of Ittner, Doug Lim of Gilbane and Gary Clack
of Hanson Engineering) have worked diligently with the district to find resolution and although it is my
duty and formal recommendation to the Ball-Chatham Board of Education that we respectfully decline
all bids, I encourage the following action: Decline all bids and provide a provision that allows for
professional firms we employed an opportunity to share their recommendations for moving the
project forward."
Lim said he was "shocked" that the bids came in so high, and other representatives from
construction manager Gilbane proposed some re-design recommendations that could potentially
save $3.8 million in estimated costs. Also, the project will be re-bid in two phases - site excavation,
concrete, site pavement and site utilities, then on to structural exterior.
Proposed changes to the design include one entrance to the building, parking lot size reduction
and plans for Acacia Lane to be extended to the school site and used as a service road could be in
jeopardy. Other changes include: load-bearing block walls instead of steel, scaling back some
aesthetic features and cheaper light fixtures, among others.
Gillum's second statement reads, "After hearing the team recommendations to re-frame the bid
packages with specified design modifications and re-bid the project in the coming weeks, I am
recommending this option as it presents the possibility of moving forward at no additional cost to the
district. The principals of these firms (Gilbane, Ittner and Hanson) have agreed to complete the
design and specification changes at their cost, symbolizing a sincere interest in our community. I
applaud their offer to remedy what began as a potentially costly decision to re-design and bid again."
Chatham Clarion
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Issue Date: March 18, 2010