Colstrip board to seek RFQs for sports-complex design after consultant visit

Colstrip Public Schools trustees heard a presentation from consultant Brandon Johansson on plans to advance a sports-complex project and agreed to begin soliciting design teams.

Johansson, introduced to the board as a design consultant, urged the district to seek request-for-qualifications (RFQ) responses so it can get preliminary designs and engineer estimates before deciding whether to phase repairs or pursue a full replacement. "I think you're looking at trying to get the sports complex project kind of up and running," Johansson said, describing options including traditional design-bid-build, alternative delivery methods and term/on-call contracts.

Board members and coaches pressed on priorities — whether to pursue track-and-field improvements that might let Colstrip host meets or to start over with a complete “scorched earth” rebuild. Coaches and a concessions manager described unsafe or unsanitary conditions in the concession building and stressed that the district needs interim fixes to keep hosting events while design work proceeds.

Johansson said a full design phase, if budgets and schedules allow, could take about a year; earlier regional projects were cited as benchmarks. A historic figure mentioned for a comparable Baker High School complex was about $4.1 million; Johansson told the board a comparable modern replacement could be roughly in the $7 million range. He also highlighted smaller preliminary-architecture reports (PARS) available through the regional development agency and said the Department of Commerce offers public-facility grants (examples in the discussion cited awards around $750,000) that could be part of a funding mix.

Johansson recommended the board consult legal counsel about procurement thresholds and delivery-method justification, and he offered to send RFQ examples and help draft language. The board directed district staff to post RFQ notices and to include coaches and other local stakeholders in kickoff discussions; Johansson said he would email RFQ examples and follow up with contract figures from prior projects.

Next steps: trustees and administrators said they will post RFQs this week, solicit qualifications, review responses at a future work session and convene community stakeholders to build funding support and finalize priorities.