District defends contractor selection

I have been involved in the high school project since the beginning when the school district hired Steeplechase Development Advisors. It is managing this process in a fair and transparent manner designed to give the district both the most cost effective result and the highest quality result. We are working toward creating the greatest value for our school district not just the cheapest solution.

There was no low bidder for general contractor of the high school construction project because there were no “bidders” at all. The district is engaging a general contractor for preconstruction services, before the design of the building is complete so that the contractor can help the architects produce a cost effective design.

Furthermore, the contractor will then have responsibility for what is designed and not have the latitude to blame the architects during the construction phase for any errors or omissions in the drawings. Each of the general contractors who submitted a response to the request for proposal provided a preliminary cost estimate.

Those cost estimates were not bids, nor did those numbers play a significant role in the ultimate selection of the general contractor. The cost estimates were simply used as a tool to help the selection committee gain insights as to how each of the contractors would approach the project.

As a result of this selection process, the district has negotiated the general contractor’s fee, which was done on a competitive basis. This is the cost for managing the construction of the project — not for the actual work itself which is largely done by sub-contractors. All of the sub-contractor work will be bid competitively when the design is complete in four to six months. The sub-contractor costs make up the vast majority of the overall project costs.

The selected contractor, a Montana firm, Langlas and Associates, was chosen based not only on its proposed fees, but primarily on its ability to demonstrate how it would work with the district’s architects and the district to support the design of the most cost effective building and to deliver a quality end product that will meet the educational needs for the district for the 21st century.

Langlas’ extensive experience with school projects across Montana and the positive reviews by other districts and architects they have worked with told a very compelling story. Their proposed fee was less than the fees proposed by all other competing firms.

Via subsequent negotiations conducted by Steeplechase, Langlas agreed to an even lower fee based on 3.75 percent of projected costs. This compares favorably to the 4.75 percent fee paid relative to Swank on the Whitefish Middle School project. Now that the general contractor’s fees are fixed, their interests are aligned with the district to deliver the lowest cost possible while still producing a quality product.

This approach is different relative to how the district has approached projects before and the selection process was much more thorough and reached a much broader number of potential contractors than our previous efforts.

It is the approach that quality developers use to ensure cost competitive and high quality resulting work.It is the best approach for the district to take and would not be possible without a professional project manager like Steeplechase.

In the long run, the fees paid to Steeplechase for project management will likely save the district money. As an illustration of the problems with the old approach, the district continues to face significant challenges and continued costs with the middle school, which was delivered without a professional project manager overseeing the contractor.

The $310,000 paid to Steeplechase before the bond passage resulted in substantially more funding for the project in terms of grants won and alternative funding raised than the amount paid to Steeplechase, in alternative funds including grants and a commitment from the City of Whitefish to utilize TIF funds, providing the chance for taxpayers to support a $19 million project with only $14 million of new taxes.

In many ways, I do not believe we’d be even talking about the high school project if it were not for the role that Steeplechase has played in this process.

I was on the board for the design and contractor selection of the remodel for the middle school project and I can say with complete confidence that the process we just completed in the contractor selection for the high school project was transparent and rigorous and we have made a great selection in Langlas and Associates. They will be an excellent team member in the ultimate delivery of a great re-developed high school for our community.

— Pat Jarvi is chairwoman of the Whitefish School Board.