Stanton board discusses construction timeline, process for seeking contractors for project

The Stanton School Board is moving to finalize details on the district’s multi million dollar renovation project.
At the regular meeting of the Stanton School Board on Dec. 10, superintendent David Gute outlined a proposed timeline for the remainder of the project, while stating it was still tentative, with the Request for Qualifications posted and or sent to interested companies Dec. 16.
• Jan. 7, RFQ due to the superintendent’s office by 4 p.m.  
• Jan. 8, Request for Proposals (RFP) sent to all qualified construction companies.
• Jan. 22, RFP due to superintendent’s office by 10 a.m.
• TBD,  Special school board meeting to interview construction management, if needed.
• TBD, Special school board meeting to approve hiring of construction manager company.
• Late January - Early February, Approve a contract with a construction management company.
“I had conversations with Kevin Schluckebier with KPE Architecture and I worked through that timeline with him. He said there might be some dates that need to change. Kevin and I have also talked about not having those RFPs due in between Christmas and New Year’s because he didn’t believe that we’d get as good as results,” advised Gute. “However Patrick Straatmann and Chad Liechti, who are also with KPE, have talked to a lot of companies, and they think that we’ll get good results even if we ask for them during that Christmas to New Year’s time frame, so they may suggest that the RFQ be due in between just to move the process along a little faster. I’m fine with that, but we also want people interested in the project. So I’m letting them work through that right now.”
The statement of qualifications for the construction manager at-risk will be evaluated by the Stanton Community Schools selection committee and all submitting firms will be notified if they meet the qualification criteria and advance to the second step of the solicitation process, the RFP. The construction manager at-risk, owner and design team shall work collaboratively to provide recommendations for the school board regarding analysis on total project cost, sequencing, and constructability toward competing construction promptly.
The scope of the work will involve both pre-construction, bidding and construction phase services and shall include all necessary work required to provide a complete project.  Phasing may be required, however scope as determined required for occupancy allowing 2026 return to fall class operation is required. The district shall have the right to reject any and all proposals to the RFQ at any time, except for the purpose of evading the provisions of the state procurement statutes.
The request for proposals will also be evaluated by the Stanton Community Schools selection committee and shortlisted firms recommended for potential interviews will be notified as deemed required. The construction manager at-risk, owner and design team shall work collaboratively to provide recommendations for the school board regarding analysis on total project cost, sequencing, and constructability toward promptly competing construction.
The project scope includes a main entry addition housing combined administrative functions, a remodel of former offices to classrooms, restroom and miscellaneous accessibility improvements with multiple mechanical system updates. The project will be promptly completed as determined in pre-construction, focusing on the 2026 summer break with exact dates and times to be determined.
Gute was asked if there was a time limit when everything has to be completed that would negate the bond funding if past the deadline. Gute said that would not be the case
“When the Hamburg District passed the bond, they waited, because they kept getting proposals that were higher than what they had passed in the bond. They waited a couple of years before they even hired a construction company. I think it was two full years before it went down, in part because we were coming out of COVID-19, and things were really expensive,” stated Gute. “I believe they got the bond issue passed in 2022 and they’re still in the process of renovating the facility. Once we sell  our own general obligation bonds, then we’ve got 20 years of paying back. When we get to that point, we’ll work with Piper Jaffray on how much we want to sell.”
Gute also told the board that in the elementary, they were dealing with some boiler problems.
“We have three boilers at the elementary, and one is currently down. Two are enough to handle the heating load, and we have one in reserve, but now we have one currently down. Even though we know that we’re probably doing something different HVAC-wise down there, it’s probably going to be another year that were using the existing system, so we’re working on getting that fixed,” commented Gute.