Yakima School Board approves architecture and project‑management contracts for Hoover and Garfield, OKs three buses

The Yakima School District Board of Directors on June 15 approved final agreements to move the Hoover and Garfield elementary school rebuilds into procurement and construction planning and authorized the purchase of three replacement buses.

Mr. Cooper, the district project lead, outlined the procurement cadence for the two large bond projects and said the district will seek approval from the PRC for GCCM procurement, publish RFQs in late July and early August, interview shortlisted firms in late August and seek board approval of selected contractors in mid‑September. Cooper said the district expects bond sale proceeds to be available around Sept. 15 and described plans for early site work at Hoover starting in January 2027 and full construction in 2027–28, with Hoover targeted to open in fall 2028 and Garfield in fall 2029.

"We're hitting the ground running on the bond projects," Cooper said, describing synchronized procurement steps for both schools and a prototype design approach intended to reduce fees for the second school.

Votes at a glance

• Design West Architects — final agreement approved. Motion moved by Director Rice; chair announced the motion carries. The packet lists the architecture fee in the contract as $7,393,454. The motion carried at the meeting. (Provenance: agenda presentation and vote discussion.)

• Turner and Townsend Heery LLC — owners’ project management services approved for Hoover and Garfield in the amount of $1,720,000. Motion moved by Director Rice; the board approved the agreement. (Provenance: project‑management presentation and vote.)

• Purchase of three Thomas HDX diesel buses — approved at $760,352.94 from Sheddkey Sheddkey Northwest to replace units at the end of useful life. Motion moved by Director Rice and carried. (Provenance: transportation presentation and vote.)

Cooper told the board the district will issue a first RFQ publication for GCCM on July 20 and planned a pre‑proposal meeting Aug. 4; statements of qualifications would be due Aug. 11 with interviews scheduled for Aug. 27, followed by shortlist notifications Aug. 28. He described GCCM as a hybrid procurement method that allows the district to interview contractors based on qualifications and then negotiate price and scope.

Cooper also explained a prototype design strategy: the same basic design will be used for both schools with classroom counts adjusted (Hoover roughly 32 classrooms; Garfield roughly 28, with bid alternates to increase those counts) and said that prototype work reduces the design fee on the second school by a reported percentage.

Board members asked about contractor locations and public access to bond‑project information; Cooper said the district will publish quarterly email newsletters and keep website updates with pictorial progress as design and site work advance.

The board took the approvals as routine business and moved the items forward; the meeting record shows each motion carried. Several items discussed during the procurement and budget presentations — including RFQ dates, projected bond cash timing, the district’s prototype design approach and the purchase of buses — will proceed to contracting and procurement steps that staff indicated will return detailed contract documents for signature and implementation.

The meeting later adjourned to executive session to continue earlier deliberations.