Cape School District to consider construction consultant

The Cape Girardeau School Board will hear a proposal to create a position within the district for a construction management consultant and owner representative during Monday night's meeting.

Superintendent Dr. James Welker and administrative services director Neil Glass will propose the board hire Keith Fairchild, a former project manager for McCarthy Building Cos., the company that is overseeing the district's ongoing $40 million school improvement building plan.

Fairchild was terminated from his position with the company in May for an undisclosed reason.

Welker said the desire to hire Fairchild is due to the district needing additional help on construction decisions.

"It comes down to the fact that we have so many projects going on right now. We have a lot of bids getting ready to go out and a lot of projects going on, and we've got school starting again," Welker said. "Mr. Fairchild is very knowledgeable about our projects and is available, so we are looking at using him on a consultant basis."

According to the proposal's description, an owner representative and management service is common in larger school construction projects and provides checks and balances between a construction manager and designers. The proposal says the plan would address evaluation of design; analysis and negotiation of bids; management of future and existing change orders to maximize district funds; and monitoring and management of general conditions to maximize district funds. The conclusion of the proposal says "the consequences of neglecting, deferring or ignoring these needs will lead to increased construction costs."

The proposal also says the use of a consultant could help the district capitalize on a favorable construction market.

The consultant would be paid $75 per hour, with a cap of $35,000.

School board member Paul Nenninger said the reason for the proposal has to do with bids for the district's planned performing arts center at the high school coming in higher than expected.

Glass previously told the Southeast Missourian bids came in over the $6,868,446 budget. He could not be reached for comment Saturday.

Before the school board went into closed session during Monday's special meeting, Nenninger read an objection to discussing several issues related to the possible hiring of Fairchild. Board president Stacy Kinder said after Nenninger read his objection that the board had sought legal advice earlier in the day and would not be discussing the items mentioned by Nenninger, which included creation or need for a new personnel position for the district, more specifically a special consultant position, or the hiring of a consultant, contractor or any other district personnel position that had not been publicly announced, an application review process completed and a candidate being presented to the board for approval.

Both Welker and Kinder said Nenninger's objected items were not discussed in closed session.

"It is truly ironic that the consultant position that pursues the advantages of the competitive marketplace is filled without benefit of that same competition," Nenninger wrote Saturday in an email to the Southeast Missourian.

Kinder said she was hesitant to talk about the discussion of hiring Fairchild before one took place and did not want to speak for other board members, but that she knew there were differing opinions on the proposal.

Welker said McCarthy Building Cos. does provide many services that a special consultant would provide and that the district would continue to work closely with the company.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO

1000 S. Silver Springs Road, Cape Girardeau, MO