Abington Heights board approves ICS construction-management contract for middle-school project

The Abington Heights School Board voted 9–0 on Jan. 8 to approve a construction-management contract with ICS for the addition and renovation of the Evington Heights Middle School, following a facilities-committee recommendation and finalist interviews.

"The committee unanimously voted to recommend putting ICS on the agenda tonight for the full board to vote on," Facilities Committee member Mr. Azar said during the meeting, describing the committee's review of five responses to the district's request for proposals and a set of finalist interviews. Committee members said CHA, ICS and SiteLogic were the three finalists; all were judged qualified, and the committee recommended ICS based on preconstruction experience, cost estimating and proposed project staffing.

The superintendent and committee described the construction manager's role as threefold: preconstruction work with the district's design firm KCBA (reviewing drawings and identifying cost-saving or constructability changes), managing the bidding process for multiple prime contracts (general trades, electrical, HVAC/mechanical and plumbing), and providing an on-site project manager who will oversee day-to-day site safety and quality. Dr. Schaeffer said the district will use construction-management software (Procore) and emphasized the firm will participate in pre-bid review to reduce later conflicts.

Committee members noted due diligence steps, including finalist interviews, recusal when appropriate (Miss Hillebrand recused because of a business relationship with a bidder), and reference checks. One committee member reported a reference from another large district that recommended engaging the construction manager earlier in the design process so they can provide cost estimates and preconstruction input rather than only "bid and build." The board's stated contract total to take to work under was described in the meeting as approximately $898,242.

Board members asked questions about the fee breakdown and the on-site manager; the committee said the bulk of the fee covers the daily, on-site project manager who will be present through construction (committee discussion estimated about two+ years of on-site oversight). The administration said state procurement rules require separate prime contracts for major trades, which the construction manager will coordinate on-site.

The board approved the motion to award the contract to ICS; the motion carried unanimously.

Ending: ICS will begin preconstruction work and assist the district with final bid documents; administration said bidding for prime contractors will be run in the spring with contract award and construction work to follow in mid-2025.