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Design‑builder MIG outlines HVAC and ventilation overhaul for Thompson Primary, seeks BEST grant
Summary
Design‑builder MIG told the Brush School District board it has identified major ventilation and central‑plant deficiencies at Thompson Primary and proposed a design‑build project to address heating, cooling, controls and ventilation, contingent on a BEST grant and district match.
Representatives from design‑build firm MIG told the School District No. Re‑2 Brush board that Thompson Primary School’s heating, ventilation and controls are at or near the end of their useful life and need a comprehensive upgrade, not just piecemeal replacements.
“Bottom line is we found out that it was really designed kind of deficiently with no way to actually control the amount of fresh air that's going into one classroom versus another,” said Aaron Tien, senior product developer for MIG’s Colorado operations, summarizing the firm’s evaluation of the building’s ventilation systems. Tien and Colton Heaps, MIG’s vice president of operations, recommended a targeted renovation that would reuse serviceable piping and fan‑coil infrastructure while replacing the central plant, upgrading controls and improving dedicated ventilation.
MIG presented a project scope intended to make Thompson Primary reliable for heating in winter and provide better, controllable ventilation in classrooms. The firm’s engineers recommended replacing boilers with high‑efficiency condensing units, switching to variable‑speed pumps, installing an air‑cooled chiller, consolidating control platforms and considering either refurbished fan‑coil replacements or adding a separate dedicated ventilation system for each space. “We are responsible. We can't say that's not our fault; that's somebody else,” Tien said, describing the single‑point accountability MIG offers under a design‑build contract.
On budget, MIG told the board the district would likely need to provide roughly $2.2 million in matching funds to secure about $3 million in BEST grant dollars — a funding split of roughly 40 percent local to 60 percent state — and that the team had built escalation and contingency adders into its estimate. MIG also described a staged contracting approach, starting with a recommended investigative phase (an initial analysis the presenters priced at roughly $70,000) and a schematic/design effort (estimated at about $150,000) that would lead to a guaranteed maximum price if the board chooses to proceed.
MIG emphasized commissioning and performance testing as part of the scope and said the firm includes a one‑year workmanship warranty and often negotiates longer manufacturer warranties or service contracts where feasible. “We call [this] the MIG difference — single source accountability, commissioning, and long‑term performance,” Colton Heaps said.
The district’s administration told the board the project is tied to a pending BEST grant award; MIG said the board would still need to approve any use of capital reserves and take action before funds could be spent. MIG said it expected notification about the BEST award the week of the presentation but stressed that formal board approval would be required before committing district funds or signing construction contracts.
Next steps identified to the board included waiting for BEST notification, approving any necessary capital‑reserve use if the grant is awarded, and moving through the competitive selection or negotiated design‑build agreement phases described by MIG. The board did not take action on the project during the meeting; the presentation concluded with an offer to proceed with the investigative and schematic phases if the board directs staff to do so.
