A bid for the Garland ISD natatorium that was approved in the 2014 bond package was submitted to the board of trustees in May. The amount of the bid was $30.1 million and was submitted by Hayden Construction Corporation. Hayden Construction provided the top ranked bid. The board requested that Jacobs, the bond managers, look for ways to decrease the amount.
The natatorium was again on the agenda for a September board meeting. Only a small decrease was made and the second place contractor, Pogue Construction, was contacted. They identified $3.7 million in potential cost cuts. Their construction bid was $27.5 million and the administration recommended that Pogue be awarded the bid.
Board of trustees member Larry Glick expressed an opinion on the bid.
“What I’m about to say is very difficult for me. If you go back to our meeting on August 12, 2014,…this was a time when we had the most detailed discussion about the bond election and more specifically, including the natatorium,” Glick said.
He stated that on May 24 he spoke again about the natatorium cost overruns and his disappointment with the situation.
“The number we have now been given is about $27.5 million,” he said.
He added that he and board President Linda Griffin had spoken to Jacobs’ representatives recently and the amount they were told for the ‘actual’ natatorium costs, not only construction costs, was $32.3 million.
He added that the district had told the voters that the cost for the natatorium would be $20 million and the voters approved it.
“Now we are 60 percent over budget…,” Glick commented.
Voters approved a $455 million bond package but the project numbers total more than $480 million and Glick pointed out that the amount doesn’t include the $13 million being paid to Jacobs to manage the project.
“Even though we told the voters $455 million, we are somewhere around $493 million,” Glick said.
He added that his fear is that bond money will be gone before all the projects are done.
Glick also said that the bond committee appointed by the district listed all the projects in its order of priority and that the natatorium was at the end. Safety was first.
“What I would propose is the following: We are about to get bids on phase 2. After that will be phase 3. It would seem to me that when we are done with the bids for phase 3, we will have a very, very good idea where we stand.”
He said that if there is enough money, the natatorium could then be built in phase 4.
“I want to get it done. I promise you I do, but not by sacrificing many schools in phase 3, possibly in phase 4 and specifically safety.”
Board of trustees member Rick Lambert said that he understands Glick’s concern but he does not see evidence, based on information from Jacobs, that cost estimates cannot be met.
“If we delay, we are automatically adding at least $2 million in costs to the natatorium project because we have to comply with new code provisions and put in a tornado shelter and we have to deal with escalation costs that we don’t know that we could make up for by moving any other project,” Lambert said. “But I think that in addition to that, what we’ve heard from those who support the natatorium, we committed to do this project and we committed to do it in phase 1.”
He added that an aquatics director had already been hired.
“If we’re going to do this, we should do it now in a cost effective manner rather than deal with escalations,” he said.
Board of trustees member Jed Reed said that most of the people with whom he has visited are in favor of completing the other projects before the natatorium.
He added that the cost to operate the facility has not been discussed.
“That is a facility that cannot be turned off. It operates 365 days per year,” Reed said.
Glick expressed more concern over the bond amount numbers.
“I guess I just get very frustrated because each time the numbers keep changing. We told the voters $455 million but you add up all the projects and it’s $480 million. You say it’s not really $480 million, it’s $455 million,” he said. “OK, so it’s not really $480 million even though they add up to $480 million. Then we add the $13 million…Now if this pool gets done at this price, that’s another $12 million.”
Glick said that they are told ‘Don’t worry about that, that’s fine, we’ll cover that.’
He added that the board had been told that the only project that has gone over budget so far is Handley Elementary School.
“I think that’s not correct,” he said. “We told the voters $32 million for the CTE [Career & Technical Education]…the numbers are there, $34.5 million…At some point when we are over $500 million…I’m sorry sir, I’m worried about it.”