Agenda - 05-17-2005-5y - Laserfiche WebLink

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11ti~C.}itTlCnt ~V'-~ (pa~?c ~~ o? s) The Orange County School student membership projections reflect no requirement at This time for additional school seats during the ten-year planning horizon, beyond the construction of Middle School #3 that is in progress, and slated for opening in August 2006. Other Observations Recently, the Board asked Couniy staff to review estimates by both school systems' architects regarding likely shortfalls in the established budgets for OCS Middle School T3 and CHCCS High School #3 Both school systems have been advised that higher prices for steel, concrete, and fuel, among other factors, make it very likely that construction bids vrill significantly exceed the project allocations for construction. County staff have been working vrith the school staffs and architects and plan to bring responses on January 24 to the BOCC-requested analysis about factors affecting the anticipated cost overruns for the rivo new school projects. The Manager has explained during the past several months that the County faces significant constraints, under its own policies, regarding the issuance of debt beyond that already programmed in the County's debt issuance schedule. That fact was reviewed in detail during several Board vroric sessions this fall. The accompanying chart depicts the County's anticipated annual debt capacity over the next ten years, with very little latitude to assume any norr~programmed debt through FY 20D7-08. Estimates of potential cost overruns just for the two new school projects have been in the range of $6 million to $7rnillion. The Manager has made it clear that he will not recommend that the County issue additional debf to address additional iunding requested by both school systems for the new school projects, beyond that already programmed, until the Couniy regains additional debt issuance flexibility beginning with FY 2008-09. In view of that, the Manager transmitted a September 24, 2004 memo io both Superintendents soliciting ideas about how the anticipated cost overruns for the respective nevr school projects might be addressed through reallocation of resources available to the school systems through their CIPs and other revenue streams. To this point, there have been no expressed :^rritten alternatives to the Manager's proposal that a portion of the planned issuance of S12.8 million in debt for CHCCS Elementary School Y10 be shifted to address anticipated cost overruns for the two school projects end otr,er County capital projects chat are in development. • In the absence of viable alternatives and with the SAPFO-calculated postponement in the need for the opening of CHCCS Elementary School #10 until the 2009-10 academic year, the Manager recommends that the BOCC indicate its intention now to redirect some portion of debt planned for Elementary ;#10 to address other, more urgent capital funding needs. • The adopted 2004-14 Capital Investment Plan (CIP) would be amended to reflect the need for funds to construct CHCCS Elementary Y10 with a revised opening data of August 2009, The Superintendent reports that the project architects have advised her chat construction on OCS Middle School #3 must begin bymid-February 2005 to keep the project on track for an August 2006 opening. Accordingly, fhe Orange County Board of Education will likely consider awarding the construction bid and approving associated contracts at their scheduled meeting on January 24, 2005.. • BOCC action to reallocate specific amounts of planned debt to provide appropriate revised capital project budgets would be scheduled no sooner Phan the next BOCC regular meeting on January 24, 2005. That action could fake the form of endorsement of specific project budget amounts andlcr the adoption of updated capital project ordinances. • The existing inierlocal agreement betvreen Orange County and CHCCS establishing the project budget for High School M3 at 527.8 million plus 51.9 million for "smart grovrth" C3