According to School District documents, 16 firms submitted proposals for the project and the top four firms were: Ajax Building Corp., Clermont; Barton Malow Company, Orlando; Clancy & Theys Construction Company, Orlando; and W.G. Mills/Ranger Building Services, Sarasota/Kissimmee.

W.G. Mills/Ranger Building Services had provided the proposal that was ranked highest after an initial solicitation for construction management services for the project. However, in late February, the district’s selection committee revisited that ranking, using a different interpretation of the local vendor policy, with Turner Construction, of Orlando, then being ranked the highest.

That rearrangement of the top firms led to a protest from W.G. Mills, which prompted the School Board March 9 to decide to solicit new proposals rather than face construction delays due to the protest. The board at the time also decided to revise its vendor policy, which would be applied to the new Highlands proposals.

One opposing vote

School Board Member Cindy Hartig was the lone vote Tuesday against negotiating with W.G. Mills. She said not all contractors were asked the same questions during oral presentations to the selection committee. She also said she believed there were unresolved issues relating to underground electrical lines that might have to be relocated, adding to the cost of the project, and that the district did not have clear title to right of way on Beaumont Street along the school site.

Superintendent Michael A. Grego said the selection was done properly and that representatives of companies that were not chosen to negotiate had complimented him on the process. School officials also said that the right of way Hartig mentioned was not needed for the project and that the project architect had no concerns over any underground electric lines.

Hartig on Wednesday shared with the News-Gazette an e-mail she sent to Cheryl L. Olson, district director of purchasing and contracts/property records and warehouse, in which she asked a number of questions.

She said the responses she received, which were shared with the superintendent and other School Board members, were not adequately answered, in her opinion.

One of the questions dealt with two selection committee members supposedly having a discussion outside the meeting room about W.G. Mills and its oral presentation. Olson responded that “all relevant discussions were held in the room.”

Another question from Hartig was about two selection committee members who were on the selection committee for the first solicitation who “did the same thing” they did on the first proposal: “high-balled W.G. Mills and low-balled CTI (Clancy and Theys).”

The response from Olson on this issue was that the selection committee followed district guidelines in ranking the various firms.

More controversy

To add to the controversy, Turner Construction April 19 filed with the district a notice to protest the second round of solicitations. The company, however, a few days later withdrew that intent to protest because they did not want to delay the opening of the school for the “greater good of the community.”

Turner Construction vice president and general manager Scott Skidelsky in the letter withdrawing the intent to protest stated that after an “extensive review of documents … our findings are conclusive and evident that we have, and can present, a documented case clearly showing that Turner Construction Company was not scored in a fair and non-subjective manner.”

Company officials also pointed out that in the first solicitation, 10 out of 23 firms were invited to make oral presentations compared to only four out of 16 in the latest solicitation; Turner was not among the four invited.

Turner Construction officials also said that in the latest selection, certain committee members had “steered other members” a certain way.

Pre-construction contract

In order to meet construction deadlines with work starting no later than June 4, the School Board Tuesday also approved a first-phase pre-construction services contract with W.G. Mills for the project even though a final contract price had not been negotiated. That work – valued up to $60,000 – involves building a student drop-off/pick-up loop for parents, building a retention pond, relocating and placing portable classrooms and other site work.

Hartig at the meeting said she wasn't comfortable that the board would approve a contract with a firm for pre-construction services at the same time it approved negotiating with that same firm for the larger contract, just so a new school project would not be delayed.

“At some point, we need to get our ducks in a row,’ Hartig said, suggesting that there should be sufficient time in the process to deal with questions and contractor protests, if needed.

More on the Highlands project

The school, which is at 800 W. Donegan Ave., will be replaced in three phases. The pre-construction site work, as well as relocation of canvas-covered structures, will be done first followed by construction of 101,000 square feet of new space on the east side of the campus and 19,000 square feet of renovated space. The final phase will involve demolition of seven buildings.

According to the architect on the project, the existing media center will be turned into a multi-purpose center and the kindergarten wing will become a pre-kindergarten facility. One of the buildings also will serve as a parent center after school hours.

The project also incorporates energy-saving features, such as use of shade trees on the site, a flat roof design for new buildings and sensors that turn off lights and heating and air conditioning when no one is in a room, among other features. The entire project should be completed by August 2011, school officials said.

“We’re looking at Highlands to be the most beautiful school in the community,” the superintendent said.