ORD-2005-005 - Middle School #3 Capital Project Ordinance 01-24-2005-6a

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2 received in December 2004 for the construction of the middle school. The group agreed that it would address other outstanding issues in future meetings. The central consideration at present is that in order for the middle school to open as planned in August 2006, construction work must begin by mid - February 2005. Directly related to that project timetable is the need for the Orange County Board of Education to award construction bids and enter into appropriate contracts for the construction work. The Board of Education's agenda for their meeting on January 24 includes action on those items. The middle school project architects have noted since project inception that the $18.5 million in bond funding would likely be inadequate to cover the costs of constructing a middle school similar in size and scope to Smith, the most recently opened middle school in Orange County. OCS Middle School #3 has been designed largely as a prototype of Smith (with some differences) and is currently programmed at about 123,000 square feet, which is within the parameters established in the BOCC's middle school construction standards. The design is intended to incorporate a variety of aspects related to greenbuilding and smart growth initiatives. In Fall 2004, the project architect explained to the Board of Education that substantial increases in the market rates for steel, concrete, fuel, and other construction related commodities would likely be reflected in the construction bids. This prompted the Board of Education to request that the Board of Commissioners consider appropriating additional capital funding for the middle school project sufficient to preclude any further reductions to the contemplated 123,000 square foot design. The BOCC tasked County staff to conduct an independent assessment of factors affecting the school construction project costs. Their analysis and findings are provided in an attached narrative and associated spreadsheet, and will be explained by staff during the BOCC's January 24 meeting. In accordance with the BOCC's November 2000 "Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects ", OCS is requesting that the Board adopt a revised capital project ordinance that would appropriate funds for the balance of the project. Under the policy, Middle School #3 qualifies as a Level 2 project, which is structured in four phases. The project is now at the Design and Construction Phase, which includes final design, facility construction and purchase of equipment, furnishings, technology, and one -time start up items. The remaining phase, the Final Accounting Phase, comes at project completion and provides a reconciliation of actual project expenditures with the approved project budget. As noted in the attached January 24, 2005 OCS agenda item, the Superintendent is recommending that the Board of Education award a total of multi -prime base bids and recommended alternates in the amount of $18,273,846. That amount, if approved, would bring the total estimated Middle School #3 project cost to $22,608,091. The BOCC has allocated the previously mentioned $18.5 million in general obligation bonds towards the project cost. OCS has also identified $350,000 of its own funds ($300,000 from sales tax reimbursements and $50,000 from the North Carolina Department of Transportation) to help pay for the project. The BOCC has previously appropriated, through the Soccer Superfund Capital Project Ordinance, $237,525 to pay for the County's share of the pre- grading /sitework being administered by OCS for the middle school and soccer center sites.