County staff recommend Asheville-based contractor as construction manager-at-risk for new school; contract to be returned to commissioners

Swain County staff told commissioners in the March work session they have selected a construction firm to serve as construction manager-at-risk for a planned school-build project and will return with a contract for board approval.

Mark Sale introduced the recommendation and said the recommended firm has an Asheville office and a history of work in Western North Carolina. He described the CMAR approach to the commissioners: the firm would join the project in the design phase, work alongside the architect, and deliver a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) at the end of design. According to Sale’s summary, the firm agreed to pre-construction and construction management fees Sale characterized as competitive: about 0.6% of construction cost for pre-construction services and roughly 3.75% for construction management services.

Sale said the recommended approach includes a construction contingency that, if unused, would remain with the project. He used an example: a 3% contingency on a hypothetical $40 million GMP would free up about $1.2 million back into the project if the contingency was not spent. Sale also said the company has a record of completing similar projects under budget and on time in nearby counties; he said the project team had interviewed multiple firms and recommended moving forward with the chosen CMAR.

Sale told commissioners the county had made an initial offer to the firm and that negotiators were finalizing contract language, including definitions that county counsel and the vendor were still refining. He said his intent was to have a contract ready for the board’s next meeting and that John Henning already had a standard construction-manager contract template the county uses. No formal contract vote occurred at the work session; Sale said staff would bring a contract back for formal consideration.

Why it matters: selecting a CMAR changes procurement and project oversight by bringing the construction manager into the design process earlier, which staff said helps control cost risk and allows for a guaranteed price once design is complete. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about timing, scope and protections in the contract language.

Next steps: staff said they will finalize contract language with counsel and return to the board with the executed agreement or a request for approval in the next meeting cycle.

Sources: Presentation and remarks by Mark Sale during Swain County Board of Commissioners work session, March.