Vidor ISD trustees approve $11,374,380 guaranteed maximum price for Pine Forest Elementary

The Vidor Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a guaranteed maximum price of $11,374,380 for the Pine Forest Elementary construction project at a Sept. 29 special meeting, with Trustee David Camp moving the measure and Miss Long identified as the seconder; one trustee, Miss Vincent, recused herself and the chair announced the motion carried 6-0 with one recusal.

Colin Garrett, presenting the GMP to the board, said the district solicited bids Aug. 21, issued one addendum and built the GMP from subcontractor and supplier inputs and architect specifications. "The guaranteed max that's being presented for Pine Forest is $11,374,380," Garrett said.

The presentation said the GMP includes an owner contingency allowance separate from the construction manager-at-risk contingency. Garrett also told trustees the district excluded the permit cost from this GMP after the city reduced permit charges; he said remaining permit fees from prior projects will be reallocated into the owner contingency on those projects. Garrett said drawings and specifications have been submitted to permitting and letters of intent and subcontract agreements were ready to be issued if the board approved the GMP.

Trustees asked about local subcontractor participation and equipment procurement. When asked if many subcontractors were local, Garrett said subcontractors were "local to Southeast Texas," although structural steel could come from outside the region. On HVAC equipment makers, Garrett said Carrier was the basis of design and that competing firms "opted not to bid" because they could not meet the performance requirements. "Neither company could meet the performance requirements of Carrier, so they opted not to bid," he said.

Motion and vote details were recorded during the meeting: Trustee David Camp moved to accept the GMP as presented; the chair stated the motion had been seconded by Miss Long and announced the vote tally as 6 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 recusal. The presentation noted the district had an owner contingency and that certain permit fees were excluded from the GMP after a reduction; Garrett said the district would attempt to recover remaining permit fees for earlier projects and could charge interest if reimbursements were late.

The board did not set a new implementation timeline in open session beyond Garrett's note that permit approvals were pending; Garrett said if tonight's approval held, some subcontract agreements would begin being issued the following day.

The next regular meeting was scheduled in two weeks.