REGIONAL – ISD 2142 board members will consider appointing someone to track work on the district’s mammoth construction and remodeling project, expected to be completed later this year.

According to Superintendent Teresa Strong, her other duties make it difficult for her to stay on top of the district’s building project. She recommended hiring an outside consultant, but later said she intended the person to be someone already working for the district.

“We need to have someone who can meet on a regular basis with Randy (Anderson) and John Henry (of Johnson Controls Inc.),” she said in a phone interview on Wednesday. “We want to make sure we’re satisfied with the end result and nothing is left undone.”

Board members did not act on her suggestion, but will discuss the issue at a study session scheduled for Monday, Feb. 20 at the district’s central office in Virginia. The study session, which will also include an informal review of Superintendent Strong’s job performance and discussion of a proposed land swap with the city of Babbitt, is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

Construction issues

Strong’s recommendation followed a recent study session where Facilities Director Tom Cundy presented a laundry list of work that was unsatisfactory or left uncompleted.

Some of the items singled out by Cundy included an art room kiln that failed to pass the fire marshall’s inspection, missing ceiling tiles and a variety of technical issues that prevented rooms from being locked down. One instance cited was security cameras that were mounted upside down and could not be focused. Cundy was forwarding concerns that he had received from principals and head custodians at the schools.

Strong called for a meeting with Johnson Controls and school representatives on Tuesday to get an update on the project’s status. The superintendent said some of the issues brought up last week were due to miscommunication. For instance, she said, security cameras were not upside down, but the principal and installers had failed to discuss where the cameras should be pointed.

Strong said she received answers to all her concerns at Tuesday’s meeting. While some issues have been resolved, she said, others are being addressed.

Strong intends to recommend Cundy serve as the district’s point person for the remainder of the remodeling and construction project. “He’s very aware of what is going on the buildings,” she said. But the decision on who to appoint will be the board’s, she added.

Zelda Bruns, who is vice chairwoman of the school board, noted that she has long recommended hiring a consultant to ensure that the district is getting all that it was promised.

“I’ve always thought we’ve needed someone with the expertise to understand this project and keep us up to date on what is happening and protect the taxpayers’ interests,” she said.

Board member Chet Larson, who represents the Cotton attendance area, said he’s not concerned because the work is guaranteed. “If something doesn’t work right, they’ll have to come back and fix it.”

But Lynette Zupetz, who represents the Cherry attendance area, might disagree. She noted that when the head custodian contacted the contractor about problems with the new scoreboard at the school, he was told to just climb a ladder and jiggle the bulbs. He refused and demanded that the contractors return to fix the problem.

Not the first time

This isn’t the first time that the board has raised concerns about the restructuring project. The board grew alarmed after discovering belatedly that Johnson Controls had instituted more than $3.5 million in change orders without board authorization.

For the most part, the change orders helped keep the project within budget — but the savings were achieved by lowering the quality of materials in ways that will likely increase the long-term operating costs of the facilities.

The changes were not only made without the knowledge of the board, but were made in violation of the school district’s contract with Johnson Controls. Although the contract authorizes JCI to approve minor revisions that stay within the contract’s scope, changes which significantly alter costs or materials must be approved by the board.

The situation has since been rectified with a board committee reviewing all change orders, but Bruns noted that most of the orders are for work already completed.

Board members have also objected to change orders that resulted from errors by contractors, including code violations that slipped by the architects. Bruns has argued those costs should be assumed by Architectural Resources Inc. and not the district. But according to JCI officials, an errors and omissions clause in the contract with ACI makes it difficult to obtain reimbursement from the architects.

Meanwhile, much of the $78.8 million project is already completed. The punch lists for the work sites grow smaller each month, with the new North Woods School, scheduled for completion by late spring of 2012, featuring the most work to be done.

One key issue still to be decided is the construction of bus garages. Initially, bus garages were part of the building plans for new schools. But Strong said that is now being re-evaluated.

“We’re still looking for the most efficient way to proceed,” she said, noting that it may make more sense to keep some buses in the existing garages at Cotton and Orr.

Even with the project about to wind down, Bruns acknowledges she’s concerned. She noted that the contingency fund, a district-wide slush fund that was established to cover unexpected expenses, was already exhausted late last year before being replenished by using health and safety levy dollars to cover some construction-related costs. And at least two of the five work sites — Cherry and Tower — have already exceeded their budgets. The three other sites at Northeast Range, South Ridge and North Woods remain within budget.