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Operations committee hears construction progress; district requires contractor schedules after security-system delays
Summary
The operations committee was briefed Oct. 8 on 2019 and 2023 bond projects, contingency balances and delays in security-camera and access-control work. Construction staff said new contract language requiring schedules will allow liquidated-damage enforcement if vendors miss milestones.
The Beaufort County School District operations committee on Oct. 8 heard an update on construction projects tied to the 2019 and 2023 bond referendums and was told the district is adding schedule requirements to contracts after delays by a security-systems contractor.
“Mister Bartos” (construction lead) reported that of the scope tied to Allied/Allied Universal — which covers camera systems and access controls — “we have 12 project schools that have been completed” and about 50 schools are in progress, with eight locations remaining to be wrapped up. He told the committee that earlier contracts lacked schedule commitments that would trigger liquidated damages and that the district has changed contract language and backups to include explicit completion dates going forward.
The update covered both construction status and dollars. Bartos reported 2019-referendum paid/committed totals and said contingencies remaining at the end of September were $169,632. On the 2023 referendum he said the district budget is roughly $439,035,000 with paid/committed funds about $105,230,000 and remaining available funds of about $333,800,000; program contingency remaining was about $11,560,000.
Board members pressed staff on operational impacts from the vendor delays. One member asked whether existing security systems would be taken offline while new systems were installed; Bartos said current systems remain online and will run in parallel with incoming equipment until monitoring forms are completed and systems migrate to the new vendor. Multiple members emphasized that requiring contractor schedules in procurement documents will let the district pursue penalties if milestones are missed.
Bartos also called out a recent contract award: May River Elementary was reported as awarded at the Oct. 1 board meeting for $53,217,243 and its encumbrance will appear on next month’s financials. Staff said larger construction activity and shorter summer breaks contributed materially to higher energy and operating costs in some months, which board members asked staff to track when comparing year-to-year figures.
What’s next: staff said an RFP for construction management at-risk services for Laysan Middle School and a new ECC will come to the board on Oct. 15, and that the district will return with a follow-up on outstanding Allied/Allied Universal locations and the full list of 2019 project closeouts.
