With its bonding capacity increased sixfold by last year's approval of a property tax increase dedicated to facility improvements, Fayette County School District is preparing to launch an aggressive renovation schedule early next year, and for some local building companies and their subcontractors, the timing couldn't be better.
Between February and April, the school district will collect bids on five major renovation projects at three elementary schools and two middle schools, with a preliminary estimated cost of $55 million, thanks to the voters' 2007 approval of the district's request to increase local property taxes by roughly 5.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. The school board's call for the tax increase garnered supported at that time from a consortium of local business leaders and groups, including the Home Builders Association of Lexington, the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors and Commerce Lexington's Board of Directors.
The increase, known at the time as the nickel tax, is expected to generate an additional $167.6 million in bonding capacity for the school district this year to address an extensive list of bricks-and-mortar needs. Overall, the district expects to spend $317.2 million over the next 10 years on its building and renovation program, which has historically contracted primarily with locally based architects, consulting engineers and general contractors.
The first five renovation projects on the school district's to-do list will take place concurrently at Arlington Elementary, Cassidy Elementary, Russell Cave Elementary, Leestown Middle, and Bryan Station Middle School, said Bill Wallace, AIA, director of facility design and construction for Fayette County Public Schools, but district facility plan proposals call for renovations to be launched at 22 schools in the district over the next six years.
"It's quite a bit of work, so we're really going to be testing what our local workforce has to offer," Wallace said.
Although there is no requirement that the district contract with local businesses for construction work, the majority of its contracts have been awarded to locally based businesses in the past, said Mary Browning Wright, the school district's chief operating officer. Of 33 major construction and renovation projects completed by the district since 1996, all but one have used locally based architect design consultants and consulting engineers, and 24 have been handled by general contractors with Lexington offices.
"We find that we have a lot of local interest in our projects," Wright said. "That's not just the general contractors, but also the subcontractors and suppliers. Ö Most of the time we find that our most competitive bids come from local folks."
Some contractors, such as Lexington-based D.W. Wilburn, have earned a significant share of the district's construction business through the competitive bidding process. Most recently, the general contracting company, which has handled roughly half of all FCPS' major construction and renovation projects since 1996, was selected as general contractor for the building of both Sandersville Elementary School and Liberty Elementary School, with a combined total project cost of more than $32 million. While D.W. Wilburn selects its subcontractors through a competitive process as well, most of that investment ends up staying inside the community, said Pat Wise, who served as D.W. Wilburn's project manager for Liberty and Sandersville projects.
"The majority of our (sub-contractors) have been Fayette County based, so the money is poured back into the community, and it benefits all of their suppliers who are local, too," said Wise, a native Lexingtonian. "It really is unbelievable. Ö If you've got a major general contracting firm located in town, then they do feed a lot of people."
But, Wise pointed out, no matter where a company is headquartered or what their history with the school district might be, the bidding process for all FCPS projects is still a competitive one. As one of the state's largest general contractors, D.W. Wilburn has been able to stay busy recently, Wise said, but its work at multiple Fayette County schools has allowed it to maintain a good working relationship with the school district.
Lexington's Tate Hill Jacobs Architects has also amassed a 12-year client history with Fayette County Public Schools. The company's first project involved a renovation and addition at Southern Middle School in 1996, and since then, the architect firm has signed on for ten additional projects.
"We feel like we've really been given a wonderful opportunity with Fayette County Public Schools," said Susan Hill, architect in principal with Tate Hill Jacobs, which served as the architect design consultant for the recently completed William Wells Brown Elementary School and is currently working on the district's renovations for Cassidy Elementary.
Tate Hill Jacobs had been enlisted for multiple renovation projects across the district over the past ten years before being named to the design team for the construction of the new Athens-Chilesburg Elementary School in 2004, where they incorporated green and sustainable concepts ranging from natural daylighting to geothermal mechanical systems to address energy issues.
"Fayette County has been very responsive to (sustainable building concepts), but they also work to be good stewards with public money," Hill said. "It's a balance, trying to take advantage of new ideas, but making certain that they are well balanced with the fiscal responsibility aspects."
With the Kentucky Department of Education setting expectations of a 30-year life cycle for educational buildings, the renovations being made are expected to address the changing needs of education today for decades to come, Wright said, presenting a considerable challenge for architects and designers.
The district is also looking to reduce operating costs, Wright said. Energy management controls on HVAC and lighting systems, better insulation, and the selection of more energy-conscious appliances are some of the more eco-conscious steps the district has tried to apply in recent years, Wallace added.
"And certainly we are very sensitive to the (EPA )consent decree," Wright said.
While the school district has maintained an active schedule of construction and renovation projects in recent years, the amount of planned construction for 2009 and beyond is more aggressive, Wright said.
"As a result of the nickel (tax increase), schools that were going to be put off indefinitely until we had enough bonding capacity are now going to be addressed very soon," Wright said.
Beyond the economic impact of purchasing the services of local architects, engineers and construction companies, the school district's investments in renovation and new construction can also help to boost the value and appeal of surrounding neighborhoods, according to Wright, as the schools become more attractive to existing and potential homeowners.
At the same time, a sluggish economic forecast for 2009 could give the district more spending power as it seeks competitive bids, at least in the coming months.
"I'm hearing this is probably going to be a good time for us to bid these, and we should benefit from it," Wallace said.
In August, the school district also opened the doors of three new school buildings, constructed last year at a total cost of roughly $47 million.
The renovation projects will prioritize health and safety issues, such as indoor air quality problems, followed by structural integrity issues, the configuration of instructional spaces, and finally the cosmetic aspects.
Planning for the educational needs of future decades adds a significant challenge to the renovations as well, Wright said.
"Of course, since we're looking out 30 years, Ö we're trying to configure things in a way that's going to be effective long-term." Wright said. "That's kind of like looking into a crystal ball."
"We're making a real attempt to make sure even the oldest of our buildings works like a new school," Wallace said.