Phoenixville School Board Reconsiders $228K Furniture Contract

The Phoenixville Area School Board tackled the issue of the cost of furniture for the new administration building at Thursday night’s meeting. 

While the planning has been going on for several months, the meeting was the first time the board had been asked to approve the $228,000 contract.

In the summer of 2010, nine requests for proposal were sent to furniture companies. Three companies responded, and then one dropped out of the running in December, leaving Supply Source Inc. and PEMCO as the two bidders. The district retained a consultant to study the two bids, and on the recommendation of that consultant notified Supply Source Inc. on March 7 that its bid had been chosen.

The district had originally budgeted approximately $230,000 for furniture and high-density storage for the building. After Supply Source completed the planning process, they submitted a final bid of $319,000. In order to get that amount down to the original $230,000,  13 offices’ worth of furnishings will be reused and the district will  only purchase enough to fill 40 offices. 

Board president Paul Slaninka said the real estate committee was told “it was likely possible to get under $200,000, somewhere close to the $180,000 mark.

" When it finally came in … it came in at $319,000," Slaninka said. "[Board Vice President Debbie] Dawson and I had $180,000 in our heads … so that shocked us pretty well.”  

The construction timeline is the biggest issue with going out to get new bids, said Superintendent Dr. Alan Fegley. The middle school project is already seven weeks behind and is currently scheduled to be finished the day before the students return to school in the fall. Ordering and delivering the new furniture could take six to eight weeks, so any new decisions need to be made quickly. 

Dawson was asked to research some other options, and she said that she had contacted a vendor that had provided the furniture for another local school district. That vendor told Dawson they could save the district another 25 percent and have the furniture in four weeks. 

“If we can save another 50, 60, 70 thousand dollars and use it in the middle school … I would rather open it up and get prices from everybody else to give us our best shot," Dawson said.

Board Member David Ziev asked if the board had any specifications that could be given to new bidders to hurry the process along. Slaninka responded that Supply Source had done all the planning up to this point, so specifications would have to be written.

Fegley said the board’s options were to vote to approve the proposal, amend it and approve it, or reject it and look for other bids. Board Member Daniel Cushing suggested the board go ahead and vote and that would determine with whom they follow up.

Speaking for Supply Source during public comment on new business items, business development manager Daryl Pilon pointed out that Supply Source has spent “hundreds of hours” on planning for the district. He said that his company has given the district the best possible prices, that some lower cost options were presented and rejected, and that the reason the price went up from the original estimate was that once the company started interviewing employees, the list of needs expanded. 

“We are willing to work with whatever,” said Pilon. However, he said, “I’m cautious about putting junk in the schools that won’t hold up.” 

Slaninka asked Pilon how much lower Supply Source could go. Pilon said he understood and respected the board’s position but was unable to give a “carte blanche” number at that moment. 

Board member Jill Slawecki moved to accept the proposal, seconded by Betsy Ruch. Slawecki, Ruch and Cushing voted to accept; Slaninka, Dawson, Ziev and Mary Croke-Parris voted to reject the proposal. Two members, Josh Gould and Jan Potts, were absent. 

Slaninka pointed out that the board’s rejection of the proposal is no reflection on Supply Source but rather the desire of the board to save money for the taxpayers.

Pilon expressed disappointment at the vote and said he was not sure what the district wanted from his company at this point. 

The board is expected to move quickly to get new bids from any interested vendors due to the short timeline.