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District staff recommends Schlager Zimmerman as general architect; board questions fees and scope
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Summary
Administration recommended Schlager Zimmerman Architects as the district’s general architect to streamline small projects; board members asked about fee transparency, non-exclusivity and when a contract would be signed. A motion to accept the RFQ was recorded but a formal vote was not clearly recorded in the transcript.
District facilities staff (speaker 6) presented an RFQ on March 9 seeking a general architect and engineering services to support small projects across Nyssa SD 26. The selection committee recommended Schlager Zimmerman Architects and staff said Dion Zimmerman has previously worked on district projects.
"We received 4 different bids from architectural design companies, all of them local... based on that... we are recommending that the board... Schlager Zimmerman Architects," the facilities staff member said. Staff framed the selection as a way to make routine, small projects more efficient (bus cover, small renovations) while emphasizing the appointment would not lock the district into exclusive use.
Board members pressed staff for cost information and scope. One board member asked, "we haven't seen the proposal from them yet, have we?" (speaker 13). Staff responded that the RFQ evaluated qualifications and prior work and that specific fee schedules were not part of the RFQ; fees will vary by project. "It doesn't lock us into that company... we aren't charged until we use them," staff said, adding that larger projects above established thresholds would still receive broader bidding and review.
The record shows a motion was made "by Donnie and seconded by Merdell to accept the RFP for architecture" (transcript), but the transcript does not record a clear roll-call or completed vote on that motion later in the meeting. Staff described next steps as notifying the recommended firm and working on contract details in the following weeks.
Why it matters: naming a general architect would streamline small-project procurement and enable faster design work, but questions about fees and non-exclusivity suggest the board wants a clear contract and transparency before committing to significant spending.
Next step: staff said they would notify the recommended firm and proceed to finalize contract arrangements; the board requested fee schedules and clearer documentation about scope before broader use on larger projects.
