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Board selects Switchgrass Consulting as owner’s representative for Early Childhood Center, 7‑0
Summary
The Geary County Schools board voted 7‑0 to hire Switchgrass Consulting as the owner’s representative for the district’s Early Childhood Center project; the board also received an update on the project budget and outstanding allowances.
The Geary County Schools Board of Education voted unanimously on Jan. 13, 2025, to hire Switchgrass Consulting as the district’s owner’s representative for the Early Childhood Center construction project.
District staff told the board the project’s guaranteed maximum price (GMP) stands at $30,150,000 and described related budget lines: current design costs of $1,650,000, a placeholder for furniture of $800,000 (purchase to be presented later), and additional allowances for technology, safety and other equipment (approximately $400,000 for technology and safety items). Staff described an owner’s contingency and remaining allowances that, together with the construction contingency, keep the district near the $35,000,000 total budget goal the board established.
Operations staff said most major orders have been placed — for example, structural steel and specified door hardware — and that a set of allowances and decisions remain. The district described one optional allowance of about $495,000 for an on‑site solar field, saying the solar option did not yield sufficient payback on current local energy rates and therefore may be removed.
Staff recounted the owner’s‑representative procurement: the district issued an RFP, conducted December interviews, and recommended a firm for board approval. The procurement committee recommended Switchgrass Consulting, with a contract not-to-exceed roughly $370,000 for the owner’s‑representative services. A Switchgrass representative was in the audience.
Board members asked about the value-add and timing. District staff said an owner’s representative provides construction oversight, change‑order review, quality‑control visits, assistance with subcontract packages and invoicing review, and can help secure savings and accountability throughout completion. Staff said candidate firms proposed varying levels of on-site time and services; the recommended firm proposed frequent site visits (40–60 hours per month) and owner-side oversight that staff said was appropriate for a project of the district’s size.
After discussion, a board member moved to make the item an action item, a motion was seconded, and the board voted to approve the committee’s recommendation for Switchgrass Consulting as the owner’s representative (motion carried 7–0). Staff said final contract terms and a scope-of-work schedule would be worked out and brought back to the district as the construction schedule continues.
Administrators asked the board to note the remaining allowances and contingency balances and signaled future agenda items to allocate funding for furniture and other equipment when those specifications are finalized.
