Board approves $4.09M Fernley culinary GMP and $660K Dayton single-point entry draft; selects CMARs for two more sites

The Lyon County School District board approved multiple construction-related items including a significantly increased guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for Fernley High School’s culinary, commons, and single-point-of-entry improvements and a draft GMP for Dayton High School’s single-point entry.

For Fernley High (Item 14), Executive Director of Operations Harmon Bains explained that the project’s scope expanded after staff and curriculum leaders identified that the originally planned kitchen layout would not meet instructional needs. The change added four additional student workstations and corresponding hoods, leading to roof and grease-trap work, more concrete cutting and higher equipment and material costs. The board approved a GMP of $4,088,629 by unanimous vote after trustees discussed instructional design choices (e.g., overhead camera/screens versus close-proximity demos) and the necessity of the revised layout to support a career-technical culinary program.

For Dayton High (Item 15) the board approved a draft GMP of $660,607.50, which includes a 5% contingency on a $629,150 base estimate. The primary cost driver was storefront (single-point entry) work and lead times for materials; the project team said the storefront portion would be rebid and is expected to come in lower.

Procurement: the board approved Pellet Construction as construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the Yerington High and Silver Stage High single-point entry projects and directed staff to bring back GMPs for those projects as documents are finalized.

Safety and audio systems: separately, the board approved sole-source audio-enhancement system quotes totaling $550,803.96 to upgrade safety-and-communication systems at Yerington High and Yerington Intermediate; trustees discussed sole-sourcing, lifecycle (5–7 years per site) and the rationale that new equipment must integrate with existing proprietary systems.

Implications: the Fernley project’s higher-than-anticipated GMP reflects the district’s choice to prioritize a functional culinary lab for career technical education; trustees balanced that against cost concerns and asked staff to continue cost-control and rebid efforts where feasible. The Dayton storefront project is slated for completion before school starts, per staff timeline.

Next steps: staff will finalize GMPs for remaining sites, rebid storefront elements as appropriate and return with final bids and schedule updates; construction schedules and contingency management will be tracked by facilities and operations staff.