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BARBARA BEHRENDTThe $100,000 project would replace the old building, removed for new athletic fields and facilities at Crystal River High School.
INVERNESS - Concerned that construction of athletic facilities at Crystal River High School already has kept the school's agriculture program out of commission long enough, the School Board took the unusual step Tuesday of approving a new agricultural barn, despite staff concerns.
The vote had at least one board member concerned that the district was giving the contractor permission for cost overruns and delays that the school system would have little control over.
The barn was not originally part of the $2-million project, which will add a road, parking and new athletic fields and facilities at Crystal River High. But when School Board members learned last year that the existing agriculture facilities had to give way for the new athletic areas, they asked for the barn to be added.
The contractor has proposed a cost of about $100,000 to build the barn, and school construction officials told the board Tuesday that they thought the price seemed high. While they worked to talk the number down, a representative of the contractor, Greg Construction Co., wanted to add a couple of extra provisions into the company's deal with the school district.
The provisions would allow the contractor to charge the school district more than the agreed-upon price if building supply costs escalated. The representative also wanted to add a clause that would make it more difficult to penalize him if the project took longer than expected.
James Hughes, executive director of support services, told the School Board that his staff couldn't recommend those provisions. Other protections already were built into the contract for Greg Construction.
But the board was reluctant to take the other option, which was to seek competitive bids for building the barn. That could delay the project by several months, which would mean that again next year, the school's agriculture program would have no barn in which to raise animals.
"That means the program will be on hold for another year," board member Patience Nave said.
The board delayed a decision until later in the meeting when board attorney Richard "Spike" Fitzpatrick could answer questions about the barn.
Board member Pat Deutschman questioned whether the district had priced barns and whether the cost was out of line. School officials said they looked at covered play areas built recently by the school district and they were lesser structures which cost about $50,000 and didn't include the walls and utilities the barn would include.
"There are not competitive bids and it has terms we never entertain," Deutschman said.
Fitzpatrick said he thought the price sounded a bit high as well, but he also noted that, in the time it would take to bid the project, the prices of construction supplies could climb even more.
Board Chairwoman Ginger Bryant said it was important to get the barn done as soon as possible so that the students can get back to their program.
Deutschman said she agreed it was important to get the barn built, but without competitive bids she wasn't sure whether the district was getting a good deal.
"Is it outrageously high? No," Fitzpatrick told the board. "Is it a ransom? No."
Deutschman was the sole vote against the project.
- Barbara Behrendt can be reached at 564-3621 or behrendt@sptimes.com