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Board approves contracts to tile Ferrell Road canal, enabling future road paving
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Summary
The board approved project management services, a construction-manager-at-risk contract and engineering services for the Ferrell Road canal tiling project; staff said tiling the federally owned canal will permit a transfer of property to the city and later paving of the one-mile stretch near Desert Sunrise.
The Maricopa Unified School District governing board on April 8 approved a set of contracts to begin work on the Ferrell Road canal tiling project, a necessary step before the district and city can move forward with paving the one-mile stretch serving Desert Sunrise.
District presenter Mr. Harmon said the project will place a pipe underground ("tiling") for a Bureau of Reclamation-owned canal, after which the property would transfer to the city and later pavement work would follow. He recommended three related actions: project management services with FMG, a construction-manager-at-risk contract with DBA Construction and engineering services to continue the design and permitting process.
Board members asked about scope and costs. Harmon said the project-management and engineering fees are currently estimated as a percentage of the future guaranteed maximum price (GMP), which will be set after the GMP process is completed. "This will lead to a GMP; we don't have that yet," Harmon said. The board approved the project management services, the CMAR award and the engineering services in separate votes.
Why it matters: the work is part of a prior agreement between the district, the city and the developer tied to school construction; completing the tiling and property transfer is a prerequisite for improved access to Desert Sunrise campus and for developer reimbursements the district expects.
Next steps: staff will complete permitting, finalize the GMP with the construction manager and return to the board with implementation details and timeline estimates. Several board members expressed impatience to begin the work but no specific construction start date was given.
