Farmington School Seeks Phase 3 Construction Manager

FARMINGTON — Farmington School Board will bring in three or four firms in June to make presentations on serving as construction managers for Phase

3 of the Farmington High School complex.

Superintendent

Bryan Law gave an update on Phase 3 plans at last week’s board meeting.

The board has decided to hire a construction manager to head up the project. Hight Jackson Associates will continue to serve as architects in designing Phase 3.

Phase 3 will include a football/ soccer field, pressbox, concession stand and bathrooms, indoor practice facility, fieldhouse and track.

The district has advertised for firms to submit proposals to serve as construction managers for the project. Law anticipates receiving many proposals and said he and a committee would narrow them to three or four top firms.

These firms would be brought in for presentations and interviews with the School Board on June 12. The board will make a decision at its June 19 meeting.

For about the past 15 years, Farmington School District has built

its facilities using hard bids, not a construction manager concept. For those projects, the district knew it had enough money to build the facilities, Law said, noting a construction manager would help determine costs for the different facilities and also would look for ways to save money.

Law said he is close to making a “pretty good stab” at how much money the district will have available for construction and hopes to be able to report that information at the June board meeting. “Then we can determine what we want to do,” Law said.

Money already available for Phase 3 includes $3.5 million from a second-lien bond issue. Law believes there will be money leftover from Phase 2, the main Farmington High School building now under construction, as well as money that can be transferred to the district’s building fund at the end of the school year on June 30.

Law said he would like to complete Phase 3 and remodel the cafeteria at Ledbetter Intermediate School at the same time. To do this, the district may have to ask voters to approve a small millage increase, Law said.

The Phase 2 construction update at the meeting included change orders totaling about $4,000 and the purchase of 31 MacBook Air computers, mouses and keypads for the new high school library.

“This will allow all Apple equipment in the library,” Law said. “We’re shifting away from a library emphasis to more of a media center and tech center.”

Law reported the district is in strong financial shape as it nears the end of 201617 school year. The school projected to receive about $200,000 in new student growth money this year but instead will receive about $600,000, based on student growth and enrollment.

In other news, the Board approved its annual contract with the city of Farmington to pay one-half the salary of the school resource officer. Chad Parrish has been promoted in the police department to the rank of lieutenant and no longer will serve as school resource officer.

Next year, Farmington’s school resource officer will be police officer Jimmy Brotherton, who also is a Farmington High School graduate.

The board also voted to purchase two 2015 27-passenger school buses for $64,900 each. One will be purchased on this year’s budget and the second bus will come in later as part of the 2017-18 budget.

Purchasing the new buses basically keeps the district status quo as far as transportation, Law said, because two older buses, a 1991 and 1992 Bluebird buses, will be sold by sealed bid.

Under personnel items, the board approved Wendy Burrus as the district’s new food nutrition director.

Law