Southeast Polk board approves Myron Construction as construction manager for new elementary school

The Southeast Polk Community School District board voted June 11 to hire Myron Construction as the construction manager at-risk for a planned new elementary school, with board members voting affirmatively in a roll-call vote. The district's consultant and design partner, DLR Group, led the selection process, which included a request for qualifications, proposals and interviews.

DLR Group principal Andrew Reich said the firm considered experience, interview performance and proposed costs in its ranking. "They're actually the second largest educational contractor in the Midwest," Reich said, describing Myron's recent K-12 experience and local presence in Cedar Rapids. DLR staff told the board that differences in bidders' proposed totals were driven largely by varying preconstruction fees and on-site supervision and management costs rather than the percentage construction-management fees alone.

Board members asked why Myron's total construction-fee proposal was notably lower than competitors'. DLR staff explained that Myron proposed a smaller preconstruction fee (about $35,000 in the evaluation) while another firm listed a higher preconstruction line (about $110,000), and that the overall evaluation used a $32 million base construction figure to compare management-fee percentages and contingency proposals. A board member also raised two publicly discoverable items uncovered in a brief online search — a tax-related judgment and a dropped lawsuit tied to prior work — and asked whether those matters affected the recommendation; DLR staff said they did not find them disqualifying based on the firms' recent project performance and references.

The board and staff discussed contract mechanics: the district will receive a guaranteed maximum price from the construction manager after design is complete, and the GMP will include contingency amounts for foreseeable risks. District staff said the target timeline is for the new elementary to open in 2029, with substantial completion tentatively targeted in May–June so the district has time to occupy and staff the building before classes begin.

The motion to approve the construction manager at-risk passed by roll-call vote: Brett, Tracy, Bridget, Grant, Lorie and Chad voted yes. The board directed staff to include schedule milestones and contractual completion dates in the construction contract returned to the board for approval.

What happens next: Staff will finalize contract terms with Myron Construction, set the GMP after design completion and bring the contract back to the board with specific milestone dates and contingency allocations.