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Staff recommend modular trailer for Transportation office; members request space and utility cost details
Summary
District consultant Josh presented a modular trailer as a lower-cost, faster option for the Transportation office. Board members asked for dispatch-office dimensions, utility‑extension cost estimates and clarification of CHA/contractor billing and retainer arrangements.
Josh, a district project consultant, recommended a modular office trailer as a quicker, lower-cost alternative to a permanent masonry addition for the Transportation office and dispatch at the bus garage. He said the trailer would meet the program needs (two private offices and an open area for drivers) and could be delivered faster than a full architectural design and construction process.
"I still think it's a viable option and maybe a better option for you guys, specifically, in terms of pricing," Josh said, describing the trailer as “probably a quarter of the price” of a masonry structure. He described procurement options: buying outright or a mobile lease where the vendor retains ownership and the district pays monthly rent.
Committee members pressed for more specifics. Josh estimated the trailer purchase price and utility-connection costs in discussion: he cited a purchase-price figure in the mid‑$60,000 range and estimated a utility extension for plumbing, electric and sanitary could be “in the range of $75,000,” noting a total‑cost estimate that the meeting recorded at about $190,574 when structure and utility work were combined and other line items were included. Josh and other staff described the utility-connection figure as an estimate that would require further engineering and a competitive procurement process.
Members asked staff to confirm several details before approving procurement: the current dispatch-office dimensions and the number of staff typically present (worst-case headcount discussed as about 20 people). Josh asked for time to measure existing spaces so the modular layout would be a fair comparison: "I don't wanna misspeak," he said, and requested a day or two to collect dimensions.
The committee also reviewed invoices and billing practices for on-call design/build services. Josh said invoices often run 30 days behind because they must flow from the committee to the board and then to the business office for payment: "By the time I get them, we have to wait till they get approved off of this committee, and then they get approved to the board. And I don't pay them until they get approved from the board." Billy Gouger, an on‑Zoom participant, described prior purchases and the chair-installment project for graduation seating.
The committee did not vote on the trailer purchase at this meeting. Staff were asked to gather dispatch‑office measurements and a refined budget proposal (including hard utility-connection bids) and return with a recommendation for procurement method (purchase vs lease) and configuration.
Ending: Staff will provide measured dimensions, refined cost estimates and a procurement recommendation at a future meeting.
