Willis ISD trustees approve CFI contract for HVAC renovations at three campuses

The Willis Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 5-0 Dec. 16 to award a multi-campus HVAC renovation contract to CFI Company for Cannon Elementary School, A.R. Turner Elementary School and Willis High School.

A district procurement official told trustees the evaluation committee reviewed eight vendor submissions and recommended awards based on the committee's ranking. "They will all be awarded to CFI to begin in June of 2025, with substantial completion Aug. 1, 2025," the official said. The official also said the district was unable to come to terms with the bidder identified in the transcript as "Lidsow's company."

The motion to accept the superintendent's recommendation was made by Chad Jones, a Willis ISD board member, and seconded by Scott Carson, a board member. Jones moved, "I move that we accept the superintendent's recommendation to approve the ranking of award contract to CFI Company for the multi campus APAC projects." The motion passed on a 5-0 vote.

Trustees asked staff about contingency amounts and procurement transparency. A procurement or facilities staff member said contingency allowances will be $90,000 for each elementary school project and $30,000 for the high school. The staff member said the procurement process and postings are available online and that no members of the public had contacted the district about the procurement before the meeting. "We post things online that require plus extra things not required on the website and they are more than welcome to come and visit with us concerning the process that we've gone through," the staff member said.

During discussion trustees and other speakers praised recent changes to the district's construction and procurement process. One speaker thanked staff for what they called a "revamped and overhauled" procurement effort over the last two and a half years and said they had seen "significant savings" as a result. A brief exchange included an apology from a speaker who said they should have intervened when a person's name was mentioned during earlier remarks.

The board also approved a routine motion to adjourn by a vote of 5-0. The meeting start and end times were recorded at 7:30 a.m. and 7:34 a.m., respectively.

Details provided at the meeting indicate the awards are based on the evaluation committee ranking; contract start, contingency amounts and completion targets were specified by staff but the transcript does not include the final contract dollar value for the awards.