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Consultant reports ESCO Phase 5 complete; Phase 5a planned and contingency/ancillary fees explained
Summary
ESCO consultant Phil Mowery told the board Phase 5 of district ESCO projects is essentially complete, with Phase 5a (additional mechanical work at Middle School East and other items) planned for next summer. He described contingency handling, ancillary fees and that CM3 is the prime contractor responsible for hidden-condition change orders.
Phil Mowery, the district’s ESCO consultant, updated the board on long‑running energy‑savings and facilities projects. He reported the district has completed Phases 1–5 in the program and that Phase 5 is “essentially done” in its original scope; Phase 5a has been added under a contract clause and will begin next summer with significant mechanical work at Middle School East.
Mowery described the negotiated ESCO contracting approach used with CM3, explaining it allows the district to control scope and vendors and reduces the typical low‑bid change‑order problems seen in multiple‑prime bidding. On contingency and fees he said, “Ancillary fees can contain permits. They contain overhead, and to a certain extent, profit. And there's fees for me. There's fees for various people involved in the design of all of these projects.” He added the contract includes contingency funding for unknowns and that CM3 covers concealed issues under the negotiated contract, with leftover contingency returned to the district or reallocated to other work.
Board members asked about fee composition and whether labor is included; Mowery answered that ancillary items include labor costs as part of the overall design‑build pricing and that change orders arise only when the district requests additional work beyond the contract scope.
No final contract amendments or additional budget approvals were recorded at this meeting; status updates and a monthly report were provided in supporting materials.
