Board committee moves dozens of capital bids to full board, including ADA restroom and exterior restoration projects

At its March 10 meeting the finance and operations committee reviewed a broad set of facilities and capital projects and approved forwarding the recommended bids and agreements to the full board.

Key projects included: districtwide door replacements ($79,000); roof-ladder replacements across campuses; carpet replacement at McDowell and Tracy Elementary ($315,185); boilers/HVAC maintenance or replacement ($87,975); fencing at multiple sites ($36,500); an exterior restoration package with an awarded cost of about $1,014,000 (below the estimate); and a districtwide ADA restroom program with separate bids for electrical ($28,800), general construction ($475,000) and plumbing ($314,500).

Staff explained some of the work addresses safety and code compliance. On roof ladders staff said many are old, wobbly and not up to current standards; planned replacements will include upgraded anchor points and fall-restraint considerations. On the ADA restrooms, staff said the project will provide at least one fully handicap‑accessible restroom on each floor of each building.

The committee also discussed Wilkins agreements: a five-year annual fire‑alarm inspection for $13,680 per year (previously $10,780/year) and a monitoring contract for $1,296 per month for three years (annual $15,552) with an agreed removal of elevator-monitoring fees where covered by separate elevator service providers.

Board members asked about bid competition and timing; staff said low bidder turnout may reflect seasonal scheduling and industry workload and that rebids or negotiated procurement steps would be used if bidding returns insufficient responses. Several capital items are identified as bond-funded (ADA restrooms and exterior restoration) while other projects are categorized as capital replacements.

What's next: The committee moved the package to the March 24 board meeting for final action.