CITIZENS BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Building Fund Office

Transcription

1 CITIZENS BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes June 20, 2018 Building Fund Office Present: David Brockway, Heather Cloninger, Greg Leonard, Brian Payne, Alan Thimmig, and Aaron Vandewarker Absent: Vicki Taylor Guests & Building Fund Staff: Glenn Strebe (BOE liaison); Brian Cortez, Kris Garnhart, Kate Harrison, and Henry Reitwiesner The meeting began at 4:00 p.m. I. Welcome Mr. Reitwiesner welcomed everyone to the meeting. There were no new guests so introductions were skipped. II. Brief on Report to the Board of Education Mrs. Cloninger gave an overview of her June update to the Board of Education. She talked about the committee s visit with Mr. Bob Lund, the Director for Facilities Management, in May, including the discussion of how the line items for facilities audit projects were set up and how much it would have cost to complete all 2,300 facilities projects identified by the pre-bond, district-wide audit. Mrs. Cloninger also discussed the $5 million budget increase for the 20-classroom addition and Career Technical Education (CTE) program at Liberty. Her primary focus was the committee s concerns with not being informed of the budget increase until after the decision was made, which precluded any opportunity for the CBOC to ask questions or voice comments for consideration. In addition, Mrs. Cloninger mentioned the increase in scope for the CTE program to include autoshop and construction classes that require more expensive spaces than the nursing and other science-based classes the CBOC members understood were initially envisioned for the space prior to the election. Mr. Thimmig provided some clarification on Liberty High School s original presentation to the Growth and Capital Needs Committee (GCNC) prior to the bond election. Liberty included the auto and construction courses in their presentation, not the nursing-type programs. Mrs. Cloninger said that her concern with the scope increase was that more cost comparisons between a brand new, certified, high school program and the existing CTE classes at Pikes Peak Community College could and should have been done. Mr. Thimmig noted that there was an assumption that a new high school would be built from the bond and that the CTE program would actually be placed there. Liberty has worked on developing a CTE program for many years, and included the plans in their presentation to the GCNC in case the new high school was not actually built. The cost of a Approved CBOC Minutes Page 1 of 6

2 full-scale CTE program and 20 classrooms at Liberty was estimated at $25 million; the original budget of $10 million for Liberty was 150% lower than the estimated amount needed. Liberty worked with the Building Fund and the design team for over a year to try to accomplish the project with the original budget of $10 million. Mrs. Cloninger noted that the committee was not trying to lay blame with anyone, but that stronger communication with the Board was desired. Mr. Reitwiesner pointed out there are some structural changes to what is communicated to the CBOC, and when, that will be covered later on the agenda. Mr. Strebe echoed that the committee will be given more of a look forward at what the Board is working on next and not just a review of what the Board already discussed in order to better facilitate the oversight function of the CBOC. Mrs. Cloninger expressed her appreciation for that, and commented on the difficulty at the last meeting since neither Mr. Strebe nor Mr. Thimmig were present to provide their input on the recent budget increase for Liberty. She emphasized that the transparency of the committee was important for preventing any perceived issues with Mr. Thimmig serving on the committee. Mr. Thimmig explained that he applied to serve on the committee the same as the other members, and that his role is the same: to make sure the bond funds are being spent responsibly on all projects throughout the district. His particular perspective is that of a school administrator, and his job is to advocate on behalf of all schools, not Liberty in particular. He expressed some concerns that the community might perceive his school is benefiting from his service on the CBOC when Liberty simply presented the CTE program as part of their request to the GCNC and the process was carried forward to the Board without his further input. Mr. Leonard said the question about public perception was asked at the last meeting before an explanation was made. The committee does not have concerns about Mr. Thimmig serving on the committee; it was simply unfortunate that Mr. Thimmig and Mr. Strebe were both gone when the budget increase issue came before the committee and the members needed some background explanation. Mr. Strebe added that these kind of conversations are valuable for maintaining transparency. The members unanimously expressed their support for Mr. Thimmig s service on the committee; they appreciate the input he provides as an administrator. Mrs. Cloninger asked about the old student furniture at Liberty that has been stacked outside. Mr. Thimmig said that 600 new desks have been purchased for the school out of fairness formula funds, which will be installed over the summer. In addition, the entire school is being rewired for new networking over the summer. It was not possible to leave the old desks in the classrooms and hallways due to the rewiring, so they were placed outside until they could be removed permanently. The desks were offered to other schools in the district and for sale online but were in too poor a condition to generate interest, so will be broken down and recycled by a third party. Mrs. Cloninger suggested that a sign could be placed on the furniture or an communication be sent out to explain that the furniture is not simply being thrown out. She requested that this be done at all schools that are getting rid of old furniture. Mr. Reitwiesner thanked her for the update before turning to review the May minutes. Approved CBOC Minutes Page 2 of 6

3 III. Approve Minutes from Previous Meeting (May 23) Mr. Reitwiesner asked the members to take a few moments to review the minutes from the previous meeting. Mr. Vandewarker made a motion to approve the minutes, which Mr. Payne seconded. There was no discussion and the minutes were approved unanimously. They will be posted on the committee website. IV. Debrief on CBOC Tour #1 (June 16) Mr. Reitwiesner asked the members who were able to attend the tour of schools on Saturday, June 16 to share their thoughts with the group about whether it was helpful and what they would like to see for the next tour. Mrs. Cloninger felt it was good to visit project sites at various schools so she and others can speak more specifically about them when talking with community members. She especially appreciated having Mr. David Tubb on-site at The Classical Academy to guide the committee members around. Mr. Leonard added that the tour provided some useful perspective about the scope of individual projects that need to be complete in the next 8 ½ weeks and that Mr. Reitwiesner s knowledge of each building s history was impressive. Mr. Reitwiesner offered to include his notes from the tour in the meeting minutes. There will be a second tour on Saturday, July 28, which will include many of the same stops as the first, along with some different elementary school entrance sites. V. Board Meetings: Previous (June 7) and Upcoming (June 21) Mr. Reitwiesner pointed out a new handout for the committee with the Board of Education agendas for the previous meeting on June 7 and the upcoming meeting on June 21, both of which are available on the District website. The Mrs. Cloninger provides an update to the Board on behalf of the committee at the first meeting each month. Mr. Reitwiesner provides an update from the Building Fund team at the second meeting each month. Parameters Resolution # G.O.B. General Obligation Bond Sale (June 13) & Closing (June 21) Mr. Cortez gave a brief overview of the bond, reminding the committee that voters gave the District permission to sell $230 million worth of bonds. $160 million were sold in January As of June 13, 2018, the District placed another $8.975 million par value bonds on the market. They sold for $9,996, There was $1,021, worth of premium attached to the sale. The reason it was put on the market that day was due to favorable interest rates. There was $109, for the cost of issuance and underwriter s discount fees, so the net funds received was $9,886, This will close and the District will receive the funds on June 21. The Board will start discussing to which projects to allocate these funds during its retreat next month on July 18. Mr. Strebe informed the committee that the Board retreat is open to the public. Mrs. Cloninger asked for clarification on how the conversation will proceed following the Board retreat regarding which projects to fund using the recent bond sales. Mr. Strebe said the Board would provide some guidance to the District administration and the decision will ultimately come back to the Board. Part of the discussion will be about how to shift projects from future issuances, since there are now essentially four issuances instead of three as originally planned. There is no CBOC meeting planned for July, so Mrs. Cloninger asked if the committee could receive an Approved CBOC Minutes Page 3 of 6

4 about what the Board discusses at the July 18 meeting. This way, the CBOC has an opportunity to see the plan before the Board formally decides to what projects to allocate funds from the latest sale. Mr. Strebe agreed and will coordinate with Ms. Harrison on communicating with the CBOC. VI. Financial Report Mr. Cortez directed the committee s attention to the latest financial report, which is available in the meeting documents on the committee website. He began on page six with the overall summary. The total expenditure and encumbrance as of mid-june is $116 million. Last month it was $73.6 million. The biggest piece of the difference was the GMP for Chinook Trail Middle School. On page five under new construction, the GMP for the construction piece of Chinook Trail is $41.2 million total. This is included under the expenditure and encumbrance columns. Curriculum, furniture, and some utilities not included in the GMP make up the remainder of the $47.5 million budget. The project remains on track to be completed on time and on budget. Back on page six, Mr. Cortez reviewed the grand totals for facilities audit projects (51.9% spent). Electrical upgrades at Antelope Trails and some other smaller projects accounted for the latest expenditures in this category. Recent fairness formula (51.37% spent) project encumbrances (see pages 1-4) include $35,000 at Academy International for modular renovations; $54,000 at Academy Endeavour to replace the carpeted gym floor with wood; $140,000 at Antelope Trails for restroom remodels; $68,000 at Edith Wolford for new classroom furniture; $32,000 for theater lighting upgrades at Timberview; $433,000 at Air Academy for bundled projects, including restroom remodels, auditorium upgrades to the stage, hydration stations, and engineering classroom renovation; and $121,000 at Rampart for some additional work to convert the racquetball courts into the new climbing wall area and multipurpose room. Mr. Cortez then turned to page five for an overview of technology infrastructure projects (57.89% spent). Recent work includes $132,000 spent for wireless access points at Antelope Trails, The da Vinci Academy, Douglass Valley, Challenger, and Liberty. Network switches cost $196,500 for Antelope Trails, Douglass Valley, Pioneer, and Liberty. Schoology was selected as the vendor for the Learning Management System (LMS); $65,000 of the expenditure for the LMS is for implementation and the first year subscription to the software. Mrs. Cloninger asked when the new LMS system would be operational. Mr. Reitwiesner said participation in the pilot program was sitebased. Mr. Thimmig added that some schools are part of the pilot program this fall, but that any teacher that wanted to be part of the pilot was allowed to participate. The system should be operating districtwide sometime in Mr. Cortez returned to page six. Chinook Trail middle school has a charge from Colorado Springs Utilities for utilities development (electrical, water, gas). Legacy Peak spent about $50,000 on curriculum and other smaller items. In response to a question about interest earnings, he explained that as of mid-june, $2.989 million in interest has been earned; $2.738 million was transferred for the Liberty renovation project and the $250,000 earned in May was transferred to the Board contingency. He directed the members attention to page 7 to see the BOE Contingency tracking table. Approved CBOC Minutes Page 4 of 6

5 Mr. Leonard asked when the Building Fund would know how much the Legacy Peak / Center for Modern Learning (CML) and Chinook Trail projects actually cost. Mr. Reitwiesner said the District should have a good idea of the final cost for Legacy Peak / CML in a couple months, but that Chinook Trail would not be known until next summer. Mr. Cortez explained that contingencies are built into the contracts with contractors; that money will come back to the District if it is not used. Mr. Reitwiesner added that any unused funds would ideally be kept in the project account for a while in order to pay for unforeseen expenses that come up in the first few months after the school opens. Mr. Cortez then turned to the renovation / remodel category on page five of the financial report. Total spending increased from 9.75% spent in May to 27.05% spent in June. The following projects account for the majority of the increase (included under encumbrance): Academy Endeavor controlled entry at about $156,000; Antelope Trails controlled entry at about $171,000; Explorer controlled entry at about $158,000; High Plains furniture for library remodel at about $107,000; Prairie Hills controlled entry at about $161,000; Ranch Creek controlled entry at about $130,000; and Woodmen-Roberts controlled entry at about $181,000. Mr. Cortez explained that GH Phipps is doing six of the elementary remodels; they gave the District a $140,000 discount for doing multiple projects. The controlled entry projects cost different amounts at each school due to the existing floorplan and the scope of the project, as the committee members saw on the tour. Mr. Garnhart added that at the sister schools, some may have individual components such as the PA system that have to be relocated, which increases the price. Mr. Cortez continued with the renovation / remodels at Air Academy, which has a GMP construction contract at $3,228,000 for Building B. The project will be under budget. The library at Air Academy has a GMP contract as well, for $451,000. About $96,000 will be spent on new library furniture. Pine Creek has a GMP for the 10-classroom addition of $3.4 million. There is about $1 million left in that budget. Mr. Payne asked if The da Vinci Academy was complete, since there is still nearly $600,000 left in its budget. Mr. Cortez said a lot of the work to enclose the classrooms is under contract, but there is additional work to do on the stairways and that any surplus funds will be used to help enclose the classrooms at Rockrimmon. Mr. Strebe mentioned that when a project is completed under budget, the District is working to keep the money in the same programmatic category (facilities audit, remodels / renovations, technology / infrastructure, etc.) instead of putting it all in the contingency and reallocating from there. This will make it easier to track funds. Once all the promised projects are completed, the District will look at the remaining funds and decide what below-the-line projects can be added. There were no additional questions on the financial report, so Mr. Cortez turned the meeting back over to Mr. Reitwiesner. VII. Committee Administration Mr. Reitwiesner explained that projects are moving too fast this summer to make updating the usual 6-page summary and construction schedule worthwhile, but he is happy to answer any questions the committee members have. He is working on the schedule for the remainder of Approved CBOC Minutes Page 5 of 6

6 issuance #1 projects in 2019 and will have an updated plan to share with the CBOC at the August meeting. One of the Building Fund Project Managers resigned this month: Mr. Reitwiesner and Mr. Garnhart are splitting the workload until a new team member can be hired. Due to the Home School Academy relocating to the new Center for Modern Learning this fall, space is available at the District Administration building. The Building Fund team will be relocating there late this year or early in 2019 to save money on rent. Mr. Cortez has taken over accounting for the capital reserve account for the District, so is able to answer questions about that as well. There is no Board update or regular CBOC meeting scheduled in July. The next Board update will be August 2 and the CBOC meeting will be August 22. Ms. Harrison will be in contact about arrangements for the second school tour on July 28. There were no further questions so Mr. Reitwiesner thanked the committee members for their time and ended the session. The meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m. Meeting Documents: Agenda Minutes for Approval: May 23, 2018 Building Fund Report (Financial): Inception through June 15, 2018 Appendix to the Financial Report Providing Adjustment Detail BOE Agendas June 7 & 21, 2018 Approved CBOC Minutes Page 6 of 6