Could the Ames School Board Waste Your Money

The Ames Community School District decided earlier this year to employ a construction manager for the $55 million elementary building project to build three new schools and renovate two others rather than a general contractor.

But some current and former board members and at least one Ames tax payer said the process could cost the district and tax payers more money and open themselves to liability.

“I can't say if using a construction manager will save money or not,” said Former Board member Francis Todey. “My concern is that if a project does not go well, the construction manager will still make money and the School District is on the hook for the added costs.”

Harold Pike wrote in a Nov. 29 letter to the editor that board members could be wasting $2 to $3 million.

Under the general contractor system, a building is designed by an architect and bids are sent out. General contractors examine the plans and talk to subcontractors and make a bid for the job. Whichever person offers the lowest bid and meets all requirements is to receive the job by law.

With a construction manager the public body can hire the person or firm to work with the district and architect and then let bids for each part of the building process. The board would have more control over the process and can handpick their construction manager. Superintendent Tim Taylor and board members in favor of hiring a construction manager said it would provide the district with more eyes on the project and allow them to choose who they work with.

“I think we need an extra set of eyes and I think that is the bottom line,” said Ames Ames Superintendent Tim Taylor on why he thought the construction manager was the better option at an August meeting.

Board Member Rodney Briggs also said he liked the idea of a construction manager because it would allow the board to choose who ran the project instead of allowing it to go to the lowest bidder.

“With a construction manager we as a board have a little bit of say in who that player is,” he said.

In the general contractor route whether the board can work with them or not they win by law, with the lowest bid.

“I really struggle with that,” Briggs said at an August meeting.

Seven companies offered their construction management services for $410,000 to $1 million to coordinate construction of the Miller Avenue school and from $2 million to $3.5 million to coordinate construction and manage multiple bid packages for future buildings. Miller Avenue school would be built using three prime contractors, but the board still has to decide on who to hire as a construction manager for the project. The board is expected to make the decision at its meeting on Monday.

Board Member Mike Espeset, and Story Construction president, didn't say using a construction manager would be cheaper, but said construction managers charge by time spent on a project at a recent board meeting. They also expect reimbursements like mileage and travel above their initial fee. He explained it as a shift from spending money on a general contractor and giving it instead to a construction manager.

The school district used a construction manager CPMI, to build the middle school and for repair projects at the high school, but the board and the manager had disputes over payments and eventually the board was sued and they settled the agreement out of court.

CPMI offered the lowest construction manager bid for the current elementry projects, but the board chose not to interview them or Estes, who offered the highest bid.

Todey, who came on the board after the middle and high school projects began, said the construction manager presented a bill to the board that was much higher than originally estimated when the work was done.

“With a conventional contract, the contractor takes on that risk and if the project does not go well, he will lose money. I don't pretend to be an expert in building construction.  However, I haven't yet seen a good explanation for why a construction manager is a great deal for the school district. If help is needed to manage a project, there are other methods to accomplish this,” Todey said.

Current Board Member David Putz has expressed similar concerns.

Putz said if the board had 17 contractors working on a project and one of them goes belly up that the district would be responsible for finding a replacement with the construction manager system.

“We don't have a general contractor to turn to, to help us. That increases our cost,” he said.

If the district bid the project out in multiple packages it could also be liable for any OSHA fines.

Karen Shimp, the District's Chief Financial Officer and board secretary, said she's worked on public building projects in which the general contractor failed on performance.

It didn't make a difference we had to go out and rely on the generosity of the community to get the job done, she said referring to the building of a library in Pella.

“It can go bad either way,” Shimp said. “I know what it's like to clean up the mess.”

Taylor tried to boil down the decision in an August meeting.

“It goes back to that basic question who are you trusting to make sure that the project is going to be done under budget, on time and of good quality. I think a construction manager who has authority in the case of disputes as opposed to none is going to be much more effective.”