Bidding period extended on middle school kitchen project

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

By Sam Petri

Jackson Hole, Wyo--Wyoming is growing so fast that contractors have more work than they know what to do with. Statewide, construction is booming, giving contractors the upper hand in the bidding process.

In most markets multiple contractors will bid on one project, and the client will hire the contractor with the lowest bid. This keeps things competitive. Here in Wyoming, the competition has been reversed. Because there is so much development, contractors are only bidding on the largest, most lucrative projects. Often, that means building residential homes. Small projects, like the Jackson Middle School Kitchen Remodeling Project, are getting left in the dust.

At last Wednesday’s Teton County School Board meeting, board members agreed to extend the bidding period on the middle school kitchen project by one month after it received no bids.

With an estimated cost of $195,000, the project is too big for a small company and too small for a large company, according to TCSD Director of Facilities Kevin Thibeault.
Thibeault has run ads both locally and statewide and has made an effort to contact as many companies as possible, he said, but still, “No contractor stepped up to the table to bid on this.”

However, two contracting companies may be interested in bidding on the project. A local firm, R.I Galloway, and Salt Lake City-based Gillpatrick Construction are both in the process of bidding on other larger projects that may prove to be more lucrative. If they don’t win their other bids, they may take a look at the Middle School kitchen project, Thibeault said.

Although the project is small, it is the second largest project in the works for TCSD along with the Jackson Elementary gym. It will require work from almost every trade including plumbing and electric, HVAC, roofing, and the demolition and construction of structural walls.

“The issue is, they’re doing garages with apartments on the top for almost twice the cost of this,” said Thibeault, who is anxious about the delays and wants to push forward with the middle school project.

Even if bids do come in by the May 25 due date, there is concern that construction activities may run into the beginning of next school year.

“It is important for us to redesign the middle school kitchen,” said TCSD Superintendent Pam Shea. “I think we’ve known historically of the problems we’ve had there. I think we need to anticipate that [construction] would run into the school year, and people need to be prepared for that.”

“This is not the first time that we’re having problems getting people to bid on things for us,” said Syd Elliott, treasurer of the school board. Thibeault agreed, adding that Lander schools have had similar problems.

School Board Trustee Zia Yasrobi noted, “The entire state of Wyoming is having this issue.”   In Green River, Yasrobi said, a recent project was valued at $1.2 million and budgeted at $1.6 million. “The bid came in at $3.2 million because the guy said, ‘I’m bidding it for twice the money. If I get it hallelujah, if I don’t get it, I don’t need it.’
“We are experiencing extreme growing pains,” said Yasrobi.

If a contractor doesn’t end up bidding on the kitchen project, Thibeault said he may try to combine it with the larger Jackson Elementary School gym project, to make it more lucrative. Another option is for the school to act as the general contractor, sub-contracting out each task involved in the kitchen renovation.

PERMALINK:
Bidding period extended on middle school kitchen project | Planet JH News Article: Jackson Middle School

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