Manitowoc board hires C.G. Schmidt as construction manager after firm presentation

The Manitowoc School District Board of Education voted to hire C.G. Schmidt as the district’s construction manager after the firm presented its services and track record to the board.

Ryan Schmidt, managing director of C.G. Schmidt, told the board the company — founded in 1920 — focuses heavily on K–12 projects and provides preconstruction, estimating and virtual-design services that he said help keep projects on budget. “We build it twice. We build it once virtually and once in real life,” Schmidt said, describing the firm’s use of virtual models as a communication and risk‑reduction tool.

The facilities and planning committee had recommended C.G. Schmidt to the full board, Chair (identified in the transcript as the meeting chair) said at the meeting. The chair explained the committee’s unanimous recommendation and invited the firm to present so the full board could review the firm before a vote.

Board members asked whether the district’s projects would include local subcontractors and whether the firm had a record of staying within referendum budgets. Schmidt said C.G. Schmidt seeks local subcontractors when feasible and noted the firm had not exceeded a referendum budget in its K–12 work. “We had between, like, 35–40% of that project completed by people within a 50‑mile radius,” Schmidt said when describing past local participation on nearby projects.

A board member moved to hire C.G. Schmidt as the construction manager for the district; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The hire follows the facilities committee’s review and recommendation. The district will now work with the firm to scope projects, schedule preconstruction services and finalize contracting details prior to the start of construction work.

The board returned to the regular agenda after the vote; no further action on the construction‑manager contract was recorded in the public portion of the meeting.