Hempfield to seek bids for outside professional to navigate delayed high school project

Hempfield Area School District is a step closer to hiring an outside professional to oversee its stymied $150 million high school renovation, one of the first public steps forward since the project ground to a halt this summer.

The school board this week approved advertising for possible candidates for an owner’s representative, who would navigate the project as an independent fiduciary and serve as an extension of the district

The board voted 6-1 to advertise for candidates, with two board members absent.

The board rejected all bids presented by construction manager SitelogIQ in August, after estimates came in millions of dollars over budget from initial projections. Architects last month said the project in its current form would cost about $150 million, or $148 million with accepted alternates. That was a jump of $16 million to $18 million from the $132 million price tag that was predicted at a June town hall meeting.

SitelogIQ blamed inflation, labor shortages and supply issues for the spikes in cost.

Board members, meanwhile, lamented the ongoing delay of the project, which won’t see construction until next spring at the earliest. Hiring an owner’s rep could help the district get back on track, they said.

“We need all the help we can get,” said board member Mike Alfery. “Anything at this point that can kind of sift through the noise and bring real life experience into this room, particularly whenever we have questions that we don’t have answers to, I think, would be helpful.”

Soliciting candidates or companies to submit qualifications and a quote will give the district information on what an owner’s rep could do for the district — and what that might cost. The district doesn’t have an estimate for those services, according to Superintendent Tammy Wolicki.

“I think somebody inside our walls could help,” board member Jerry Radebaugh said, highlighting that an owner’s rep could help take a burden off the administration so they can focus on education. He acknowledged that construction on the high school project could be a year away, and said the district trusted its experts throughout the project.

“I’m in support of requesting qualifications and pricing before I make my final decision,” he said. “There are some positives that can come out of this. We did trust SitelogIQ, and I don’t think this is a knock against SitelogIQ by us doing an owner’s rep.”

Board, parents discuss

Vince DeAugustine, chair of the buildings and grounds committee, said an owner’s rep could have potentially warned the district about possible rising costs during the process.

“I would feel a heck of a lot more comfortable listening to somebody that works on our team, not somebody that has the ability to make more money based on the projects we do,” he said, arguing that SitelogIQ should have had a better understanding of the market conditions before giving bid estimates to the district.

Board member Tony Bompiani voted no on looking for an owner’s rep, saying he is concerned the move would lead to the district “spending money we don’t have to.”

“It’s going down the path of spending money,” Bompiani said, reiterating his past concerns about the high school project being overly ambitious and expensive. He questioned the notion that having an owner’s rep would have saved the district from having to reject expensive bids.

“Right now, we’re trying to put a round peg into a square hole,” he said. “We can’t afford what’s out there. Every month, I told every one of you that you aren’t going to know what this project costs until the bids come in, particularly with the hyperinflation that we are in. That’s exactly what happened.”

Erin Johns Speese, a district parent who is running for school board, said during public comment that she was “cautiously in support” of hiring an owner’s rep.

“If the district continues working with SitelogIQ, I do think it makes sense to pursue hiring an owner’s rep, in order to protect taxpayers’ interests and money,” she said. “Had you done this earlier, we might not be in the position we are in, revisiting the entire high school project, waiting even longer to begin construction as costs continue to rise, and beholden to what seems at this point to be the poor advice of SitelogIQ.”

Board Vice President Scott Learn said an owner’s rep could help translate complex construction and project information into understandable language for the board.

“We can try to pin blame on what happened before, I think that’s water under the bridge at that point,” he said. “We need to focus, and figure out how much money and what the scope of this thing is going to be and move forward, and move forward at the quickest pace and the most solid pace we can, so everybody’s comfortable and we get it done. Because we’re here for the students and the community, and we have got a responsibility with a lot of weight on our backs. We’ve gotta do it right this time.”

A SitelogIQ representative declined to comment on the board’s move to look for an owner’s rep.

The company is headquartered in Minneapolis and has a local office in Oakmont. The company has worked with Mt. Pleasant Area School District on maintenance and upgrades. Hempfield first hired the firm in 2021 to complete a feasibility study.