A split and frustrated school board approved almost $3 million
in additional costs for the new high school, bringing its total to
about $180 million.
A split and frustrated school board approved almost $3 million in additional costs for the new high school, bringing its total to about $180 million.
With construction season before them, a divided Gilroy Unified School District school board approved a $1.8 million design fee for the second phase of Christopher High School and upheld a $1 million change order – mostly for improvements mandated by outside agencies – to complete phase one. The new costs push the total price of the project to $180 million, including $35 million for the second phase.
Although trustees Rhoda Bress and Mark Good voted against amending the district’s contract with Bunton Clifford Architects – the firm that designed the new high school’s first phase – the five other trustees voted to move forward with the project. Alarmed by some of the fees she came across while thumbing through the proposals from various subcontractors for the design of phase two’s performing arts center and two-story classroom building, Bress wondered if the $5,000 allocated toward the design of a concession stand wasn’t “overkill.”
“The $5,000 put me over the edge,” she said.
Although board Vice President Francisco Dominguez voted in favor of the amended contract with the architect, he too expressed his astonishment with the extravagance of the school’s design.
“Last time visiting Christopher High School, I felt like ‘Oh my god, this is a community college,'” he said. “It was way, way over elaborate in terms of design.”
However, district administrators said that paying 5 percent of the construction costs in design fees is “very standard.” Having served on the committee for the city’s downtown arts and cultural center, trustee Denise Apuzzo agreed that the prices the district presented were in line with her experience.
“It’s just the going rate,” she said.
But Bress wasn’t convinced.
“This is an awful lot of design services for a high school theater,” she said, pointing out how many structures on a particular subcontractor’s resume were colleges, universities and law schools. “I didn’t see any other high schools. What are we creating here? Are we creating a high school theater?”
Deputy Superintendent of Business Services Enrique Palacios assured her that the new high school theater would indeed be a high school theater, “but a full fledged high school theater.”
Trustees further balked when asked to approve a $1 million change order from Gilbane Building Company, the general contractor building CHS. The City of Gilroy, Santa Clara Valley Water District, County of Santa Clara and PG&E tacked revisions onto the original road design, upping the cost of the first phase of construction by more than $1 million, according to district documents. Trenching utility lines underground and making various off-site improvements were the primary factors for the cost increase.
Palacios said the project’s specifications began to change as the design went through review with the various stakeholders.
“But we don’t know why?” Good asked Palacios.
“No,” Palacios said.
“It’s $1 million and there’s no explanation,” Good said. “I can’t support that.”
Good, Dominguez and Apuzzo voted against approving the change order.
“I’m having a hard time with Gilbane and the only way to show dissatisfaction is by saying no,” Dominguez said. “This has not been a good experience with them.”
Due to the alternative building process the district entered into with Gilbane – known as lease-leaseback – the district negotiates a guaranteed maximum price with the contractor that the contractor cannot exceed. But factor in additional requirements that were not written into the original contract and the price goes up, Superintendent Flores said.
She said she will be recommending traditional building methods for phase two of the high school.
“I haven’t been thrilled with lease-leaseback,” she said. “The guaranteed maximum price has gone up more than I would have liked to have seen.”
However, Flores conceded that the district would have had to deal with these new requirements either way.
Going with the traditional method will save the district money, especially in a construction climate where contractors are scrambling for work, Flores said. “This is an ideal time to go out to bid.”
She hopes to bid on a general contractor for phase two by the end of summer.
“I share your frustration with Gilbane,” she said to trustees. “But some of this is not within their control. My concern is having these improvements in by the start of the school year. We can’t open this school until all of these are done.”
