Lake Forest board approves architects contract for Chipman addition; design fee about $140,000

The Lake Forest Board of Education voted 4-0 on Sept. 25 to approve a contract with RG Architects for architectural and engineering services to design an addition to Chipman School, authorizing roughly $140,000 for the design phase, Superintendent Dr. Lucas said.

The district intends to proceed with design now rather than wait for state capital funding. "We feel like we just can't wait any longer for the state to come through with funding for this," Dr. Lucas said, explaining the decision to use a mix of impact fees and district reserves to pay for initial work. Chipman is nearing its 100th year of operation, and board members described the project as an effort to address aging facilities.

District staff said the $140,000 is the architectural and engineering design fee; preliminary construction estimates discussed at the meeting placed the total project near $2.1 million but staff cautioned that construction costs are likely to come in higher. "Architectural and engineering design services usually run about 10% of the construction cost," a district staff member identified in the meeting as Kellerman said, adding that design estimates and contingencies will be refined during the design process.

Board members asked about timing and options should construction estimates rise. Kellerman said the design work can be completed and then the district may choose to pause the project if final construction bids exceed available funding: "We can always just create this design for this addition and put it on the shelf and not construct any," he said. Staff estimated the design schedule at roughly three to four months, with a possible summer construction start and an optimistic completion target around the following Christmas if the district proceeds to build.

The board approved the contract vote after discussion about scope and contingencies; no contract number was recorded in the public discussion. The district said it plans to use impact fees, strategic reserves and other capital inflows to cover the design and any near-term construction costs. If construction costs rise substantially, the district retains the option to delay construction while keeping the completed design documentation.

The contract approval was recorded by the board as a passed motion (vote recorded at 4-0).