After voting down the proposed $33.8 million HVAC system upgrade for James Gettys and Lincoln Elementary schools at its Sept. meeting, the Gettysburg Area School District board of Directors will consider other possibilities for moving forward on the project.
Saying that there had been interest expressed by the board in using different procurement methods for these projects, Director of Facilities, Safety, and Security Josh Reynolds suggested two ways to proceed that would give the board more control over expenses:
Method One: Design and build services through the cooperative purchasing network Omnia Partners, specifying Trane Industrial HVAC Equipment and Siemens Building Automation System as equipment contractors.
Method Two: Design and build services through an ESCO Project (Guaranteed Energy Savings) with an open specification for HVAC equipment and the building automation system.
Reynolds said the administration’s recommendation was to use procurement Method One (Omnia Partners), as it provides the best opportunity to minimize contractual risk to the district by using a single contract for both design and construction services as well as maintain the district’s equipment and system standard by purchasing Trane Industrial Equipment and Siemens Building Automation System.
The district will have a Finance and Facilities meeting on Nov. 17 to discuss the possibilities. Reynolds said that if the district acted quickly it might be able to have a signed contract in place by the end of January, 2023. This would allow adequate time for project design, plan reviews/approvals and equipment procurement to allow construction to begin by March 1, 2024 and complete the projects by mid-August, 2024.
In response to a query from an attendee at the meeting, Reynolds said there was no specific request for work or RFP for the project because the design stage had not been completed.
The district’s next board meeting, which also includes the annual reorganization meeting, is scheduled for Dec. 5 at 7:00 p.m.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.