District receives schematic-design GMP update; commissioners and abatement plans approved

The Yellow Springs Board approved key procedural steps for the district's school construction program and heard a schematic-design pricing update showing the project is within range after recent cost reductions.

Trustees voted to hire an independent commissioning agent, a required third-party role that verifies installed building equipment performs as designed. The board also approved the guaranteed maximum price for asbestos abatement at Mills Lawn and was told the abatement work is included in the current project budget and is coordinated with the village building and fire departments.

The contractor and core team presented SD‑level numbers for the high school and middle school project, breaking out soft costs (design, preconstruction, commissioning), hard costs (materials, labor, subcontractor cost of work) and contingencies (design and construction contingencies). At the SD pricing exercise the high-school budget showed a modest overage of about $395,523 (reported as under 1% of the total contract at this stage); the team said two more pricing exercises and targeted value-engineering will further refine numbers.

Presenters emphasized contingencies and alternate lists: protected contingency buckets will remain in place through construction to address unforeseen items, and the core team will bring recommended alternates or trade-offs to the board as design reaches 50–75% completion. The team also explained how some project funds (about $72 million in holdings referenced) are invested and that interest earnings are applied to project accounts; staff agreed to provide a clearer breakout of the $15,000,000 short-term note and related drawdown schedule.

Contractor representatives said the team remains on the intended timeline but warned that delaying SD approval by multiple weeks could push the schedule and complicate procurement of long-lead items. Trustees asked for a June meeting target to vote on the SD submission so the project can advance to design development without losing key schedule windows.

The board approved the commissioning agent hire and the abatement GMP by roll call, and accepted the SD presentation as the basis for continued work and forthcoming decisions about alternates and value engineering.

What the approvals mean
- Commissioning agent: the district will engage the third-party verifier so mechanical and electrical systems are validated during installation.
- Abatement GMP: asbestos abatement is funded in the project GMP and will proceed according to the approved safety and abatement plan.

Next steps
The project team will complete further pricing exercises, finalize the SD submission for board review, and prepare materials for a probable June vote on SD submission and associated GMP requests.