The Macon County Board of Commissioners unanimously rejected a $1.18 million bid for work on the Highlands School middle school wing, saying the cost is half a million more than the committed funds. A rebid, which could include the Highlands Pre-K project, won’t be until the end of 2023.
The one bid to add a middle school wing and replace HVAC, roof, windows and flooring came in at $1,184,195 on May 25, well above the $634,300 the county has received from the N.C. Repair and Renovation fund for the work.
Emily Kite of LS3P, the county’s architects, said they worked with the lone bidder, Beverly and Grant, to find out why their bid was so much higher than the budgeted funds. Kite said the liaison committee and school board members determined the project is urgent and should be presented to the commissioners to see if they will fund the $549,895 difference.
“And we just went through a budget process, a very grueling one, and here we are a month later needing half a million dollars,” Board Chair Paul Higdon said.
Commissioner Josh Young, one of the school board liaisons, said while it’s an important project, he couldn’t get past the inflated bid.
“If I’m looking to purchase a crane and market value is $500,000; I look over the market and find one crane for a million dollars, just because I can’t find one on the market doesn’t mean I go and spend the million dollars and buy the crane,” Young said, using a comparison to his private business. “To me, it’s not worth jumping on because it’s the only bid.”
Young also said he sympathized with the school system, of whom Superintendent Josh Lynch and School Board and liaison committee member Hilary Wilkes were in attendance, saying this project “is not an equitable exchange of funds.”
Young later said if the bid came in at 15-20% over it would be one thing, but instead, it’s “near 100%.”
Commissioner Gary Shields, the other school board liaison from the board, asked about a time frame for more bids. Kite and county Finance Officer Lori Hall said it’s typically a month-long process from pre-bid conference to receiving bids.
Commissioner John Shearl called the project “a huge miss” and said bids for capital needs projects are seemingly coming in higher than expected.
“In the private sector, I can’t be off that much,” Shearl said. “I’m just going to change the subject; we were told a track was three-hundred-some thousand dollars all included and then now we’re looking at a million dollars for this track. The taxpayers of this county deserve oversight just like Commissioner Young said. We can’t just jump on this.”
On June 13, the commissioners approved asking Macon County Schools to get quotes on what it would cost to refurbish the Macon Middle track, which is currently unfit to host meets due to deterioration. There has been no public update on that request at school board or commissioners’ meetings since.
Kite suggested that future bids possibly include the Highlands Pre-K project to “change the attractiveness” of it, instead of re-bidding the same project. The commissioners included designing and architecture of the Highlands Pre-K project in the 2023-24 budget, pushed forward by Highlands community members after the commissioners and the school board paused that project in February and March.
“I don’t know if the market has changed significantly enough to create a different sort of bid environment for this particular project,” Kite said, saying they might get a different result if they expand the Highlands School project to include both the middle school wing and Pre-K aspects.
Higdon responded that there was no timeframe for re-bidding the Highlands School project. Young asked MCS Personnel Director Todd Gibbs, who was in attendance if there were any imminent issues with the Highlands School building. Gibbs responded that there’s no telling on mechanical issues.
When asked about re-bidding, Higdon said that’s incumbent on the school liaison committee to decide.
After the vote, Shearl asked Kite about the design and architectural work (Phase 2 and 3) of the Highlands Pre-K project. Kite said LS3P is targeting a completion “by the end of the calendar year” to have it ready for bid. Shearl said that would be the timeframe for re-bidding any aspect of the Highlands School project.
Hall said that account-wise, the county could bid out the Highlands School project with the Pre-K section as the main bid and the windows, HVAC, flooring and such for the middle school section as alternates.
Wrapping up the discussion, Young said that the Highlands Middle School “seemed like an easy plug and play” project. The problem was that when the costs rose, there were more strings, Young explained.
“As the bids started coming in higher, the strings started more or less pushing us to find larger contractors that weren’t local,” Young said, saying that the grant funding source likely precluded local contractors from bidding. “Maybe we redirect with the school and use local funds for this and use the [N.C.] Repair and Renovation funds on a different project that stays within that $600,000 allocation.
“I think the costs just got out of hand.”
Franklin High School work continues
By a 4-1 vote, with Shearl against it, the commissioners approved $20,000 for analysis and data projects for the proposed Franklin High School project.
The first project is a slope stability analysis of the Frogtown property north of the main campus, and the second is to gather more stormwater infrastructure data along Wayah Street in the stadium area. The motion to approve included three action items, the third being creating a budget amendment for an amount “not to exceed $20,000” from contingency funds.
The Aug. 8 meeting packet stated the plan is to complete the project before school starts on Aug. 28.
County Manager Derek Roland said adjustments in the FHS site design require the Frogtown property be filled with dirt during the project. These tests aim to see if the slope is stable enough to handle dirt fill or if it needs extra stabilization. The scope of work by Kessel Engineering will cost $11,500.
Kite said the Frogtown property was not surveyed originally when the rest of the FHS property was.
“The steepness of that property presented a challenge with regards to getting a drill rig out there,” Kite said of efforts to get core samples, which she said has now morphed into getting soil samples.
When asked by Higdon if the soil analysis is necessary, Kita said LS3P’s engineers recommended the work to test if the soil can support the weight and volume or if additional stability measures are needed.
Young later said the project essentially encompasses building roads for a driller at five points on the Frogtown property.
For the second project, Kite says LS3P wants stormwater infrastructure data and how it would impact Wayah Street and the intersection with Phillips Street along the edge of the property in the stadium area. That cost came in at $8,000 from Sprinkle Surveying.
Shearl asked Kite which of the two phases these new projects impact. Kite responded that the Frogtown work would mainly be for Phase 2, the planned school building work north of Panther Drive, while the stormwater data work would be for Phase 1, the stadium area south of Panther Drive.
Shearl did not explain his “no” vote during the meeting, but when later asked for comment, said the following: “I have stated in previous meetings that I don’t think the current site is sufficient for a new school. The state says we need a minimum of 33 acres for a new high school. I think if and when a new high school is built, it should be done for the future, and we should have acreage for growth. I believe we are trying to cram this project into a property that is not adequate. At least one of my fellow commissioners agreed that this is not the best place to build a new high school. I believe when we are talking about spending $100 million of taxpayers hard earned money, we must get it right. Some of these buildings are less than 30 years old and we are going to take a wrecking ball to them. I believe the current high school buildings would work great for a Macon County government complex, if and when a new high school becomes a reality. This is why I voted “no” on spending more money on this site.”
At the Franklin Chamber’s “Eggs and Issues” event on Aug. 4, Roland said LS3P will give the new FHS project estimate this fall.