School board approves first phase of study for May 2010 package
By Dane Anderson
Staff Writer
The Eanes school board gave superintendent Nola Wellman authority to begin planning and preparation for a future bond package and voted to extend a contract with Broaddus and Associates for the management of existing bonds. The board set a limit of $250,000 for additional cost to extend the management contract.
The plan approved at the Oct. 29 board meeting had been the subject of an earlier Oct. 6 study session and would allow for a bond election as early as May 2010.
“This would allow us to move forward on the process itself of (establishing a) citizen’s advisory (committee) and the bond assist team, which could include architects and engineering,” Wellman said. “(We would be) looking at some of the components that might be included in the future bond and policy development. Services would include a program manager; it would track budget, monitor, schedule (and ensure) overall quality. As a board, you would receive a project summary book and a preliminary project scope, budget, schedule and that sort of thing.”
The extended contract would also allow Broaddus to fast track construction and tour comparable facilities. Wellman said the end product from Broaddus would also include a schedule of capital improvements designated as priority by the school board.
Board member Clint Sayers asked Wellman if the district had obvious “overwhelming” needs that would require additional bonds.
“I would say our pressing need is (Americans with Disabilities Act requirements), both inside and outside our buildings,” Wellman responded. “I see that as a significant portion of this future bond.”
She also identified roofing needs, replacement of HVAC systems, continuing renovations at the high school, technology, transportation, energy and furniture, fixtures and equipment needs. Specifically, she said Westlake High School needed two more science rooms as a result of new government-mandated curriculum requirements.
Wellman said she wanted a better look into the future to allow for long-range planning.
“The administration would like to be better positioned with a more comprehensive look at our needs that may carry us farther,” she said.
The bond preparation process will coincide with the development of a district-wide master plan scheduled for presentation to board members in May. Wellman said she had a multi-page list of all items for consideration for a new bond, but that list would need to be “scrubbed” and coordinated with the master plan prior to determining a final bond list.
Broaddus project manager Phil Buterbaugh said the first step of the new bond project would gathering information.
“You will get (book) that will list everything that has come from the master plan, from the internal committees and the citizens committee if you select one,” Buterbaugh said. “We will have gone through three rounds of meeting with you and with the administration for prioritization. At the end of that time that book will be pretty well racked and stacked and ranked in order.”
The second step would be the detailed planning of all the things the board decides to include in the new bond, Buterbaugh said.
Sayers asked for a breakdown of the quarter of a million dollar cost of the Broaddus contract extension and whether the cost of consultants would be included.
“I understand we need to do it, I don’t know that we need to do it this quick,” Sayers said. “We want to make sure we are dealing with what we need and not just what we think it would be nice to have. Careful planning is important.”
Buterbaugh said that a further breakdown of the $250,000 cost had been detailed, but was not available at the board meeting. Wellman clarified that consultant costs were not covered in the Broaddus contract extension, and estimated those additional costs at $75,000.
Wellman told board members she thought it was important to move forward with the bond work now. The school board approved the preliminary work and the extension of the Broaddus contract with a dissenting vote cast by Sayers.
“I can’t support this – a quarter of a million dollars and we have no background information on what that will be,” Sayers said. “Now we are hearing it could be another $150,000 in consultant fees. I’d like to see that information before I commit taxpayer dollars.”
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