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Board approves DeWitt low bid for Dogwood FEMA safe-room and agrees to fund transfers and testing
Summary
After presentations on bids, schedule, alternates and reimbursements, the board selected DeWitt as low bidder for the Dogwood FEMA safe-room and approved third-party testing and a transfer from operations to capital to fund the work.
The board reviewed base-bid and alternate pricing for the Dogwood Elementary FEMA safe-room project—including an alternate classroom addition, playground concrete, and parking-lot expansions—and selected DeWitt (DeWitt and Associates) as the low bidder on the base bid plus alternates. Staff reported the combined low bid for base + alternates totaled approximately $12,037,000, with FEMA reimbursement expected to cover roughly $4,000,000 of the FEMA-box costs.
Project management presented schedule assumptions (completion target cited as 11/01/2027 for the full scope) and contingencies (allowances for soil, rock and other unforeseen items). One board member noted that doing alternates with the FEMA box is more cost-effective now than reopening bidding later. "We could be in that new building, not this Christmas, but the next Christmas," a board member said when discussing the schedule and continuity of site work.
The board also approved hiring third-party construction materials testing and special inspections to meet FEMA and district quality controls; staff recommended Terracon (or equivalent testing vendor) to perform compaction, concrete and structural inspections. To ensure fundability and reserve health, the board approved a motion to transfer $2,268,865.78 from Fund 1 (operations) to Fund 4 (capital projects) in order to support this work and other planned capital expenditures while maintaining mandated reserve levels. The board voted in favor of the general-contractor award, testing engagement and the interfund transfer.
Administratively, staff will finalize the GC contract, proceed with required testing/inspections, submit FEMA reimbursement requests, and return to the board with any contract contingencies or adjustments.
