Facilities committee reviews capital projects, building fund and Career Impact Academy progress

The Facilities Committee of the Whole met to review progress on major capital projects funded by the district referendum and the district's building fund, including the central kitchen relocation, Valley Middle School construction, a set of safety-and-security upgrades across several schools, and the Career Impact Academy. The committee did not take formal action on the update.

The meeting opened with approval of the meeting minutes by a 9-0 roll call vote. Jay moved to approve the minutes and Dr. Hodak seconded; the roll call recorded Manley, Anderson, Kodak, Cleven, Larson, Palmasino, Flynn, Lund and Berger voting yes.

Brandon (facilities staff) said the central kitchen relocation to Mark Sanford Education Center has reached substantial completion and remains roughly $863,000 (about 15%) under its $6 million allocation. "Due to the good work of all the contractors and Jonathan keeping eyes on it all, we're under budget 863,000 on that or almost 15% under budget," Brandon said. He reported construction costs of about $4.8 million, design costs of $174,000 and owner costs of $149,000, bringing the project total to just over $5.1 million.

Jonathan (facilities staff) described Valley Middle School as "on time, under budget" at the current construction pace. He reported a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for construction of $44,650,000, design costs of about $3,800,000, and projected owner costs of $1,700,000. Combining those figures, staff currently project the full Valley Middle School cost at roughly $50,200,000 against a $55,000,000 referendum allocation, leaving room for contingencies and potential adjustments. Jonathan cautioned these are not final numbers and noted owner costs and allowances are still being finalized as the project progresses.

Committee members asked about specific cost and schedule risks. Brandon and Jonathan identified several factors staff are tracking: equipment delays, tariffs that could increase furniture costs, and a set of project contingencies (owner contingency, contractor contingency, and allowances for known unknowns such as winter conditions). On the Valley project, Brandon said contingencies are trending well and any unspent contingency funds should return to the project or fund when work completes.

On safety-and-security work derived from the $79 million referendum, staff reported $18 million set aside across multiple schools to move front-office locations to exterior-side vestibules and otherwise improve building security. Red River is nearly complete; staff are wrapping up electrical and mechanical punch lists and waiting on furniture deliveries impacted by cross-border logistics. Across the tiered projects (Winship, Lewis and Clark, Schrader, Kelly, Wilder and others), several projects will start exterior work in April or midsummer and are planned so students can remain in buildings during construction where possible.

Brandon said the district is tracking a projected $400,000 overrun on the safety-and-security program (projected at about $18.4 million versus the $18 million set-aside), though some tier-3 estimates are intentionally conservative and staff expect to refine those numbers as bids and schedules firm up.

The Career Impact Academy, largely funded from the building fund, has a current contract picture that staff described as manageable. Brandon reported the project's total budget on pro forma as about $31.26 million with a GMP of about $26.96 million; design costs are capped at about $1.686 million and owner costs have an approved allocation of $1.9 million. Staff said they have leveraged grants and industry partnerships to offset the cost of some CTE equipment and furniture and that bidding Valley Middle School and the Career Impact Academy together produced scale savings. Jonathan said he does not anticipate schedule slippage for the Academy's May 1 substantial completion and noted training on building systems begins April 7. "This project has gone well," Jonathan said.

Eric Ripley (community partner) invited committee members to tour the Career Impact Academy when schedules permit and said he is eager to see students use the facility. "It's seeing the students in this building," Ripley said when asked what he looks forward to most.

Staff also gave an overview of the building fund itself. Brandon said the fund has supported a range of non-referendum projects, including a $17 million guaranteed energy savings project (HVAC and building-envelope work), a Ben Franklin HVAC remodel partially funded with ESSER dollars, roofing projects and work on Wind Chip (envelope upgrades). The fund is expected to address a failed air handler at Kelly and to support recommissioning the Grand Forks Central Pool.

Brandon described an earlier fraud event that had affected about $2.2 million and said district efforts recovered the majority of those funds but left a remaining deficit of just over $800,000 that impacts the building fund balance. He showed year-end fund balances and noted that without the net fraud impact the FY25 balance would be closer to $2.0 million rather than about $1.2 million. Staff pointed out some debt retirements scheduled in coming years that will free roughly $1.3 million annually beginning in August 2028, which will improve the fund's long-term position.

Committee members discussed the need for "guardrails" on the building fund and how to coordinate conversations about priorities. Amber (board member) suggested combining facilities priority-setting with finance-committee discussion so project priorities inform any guardrails the finance committee recommends. Brandon and Jonathan said staff plan to bring a guardrails recommendation to the finance committee in April and then back to the board before the summer project season. Jake (board member) and others noted staff have not yet finalized firm project lists or costs for FY26 and FY27, and that priorities should balance ongoing building maintenance needs (boilers, roofs, other aging infrastructure) with new projects.

No formal action was taken; the item was presented for discussion. The committee noted the next meeting date is scheduled for May 20.