Tularosa school board awards fieldhouse rehabilitation contract to J3

Tularosa Municipal Schools’ board voted to award a contract for rehabilitation of the district fieldhouse to J3 after an anonymous evaluation committee ranked three proposals, the district’s procurement officer said.

Arisa Okconor, introduced to the board as the district’s chief procurement officer, told trustees the request for quotes, issued May 8, specified a detailed scope that includes interior and exterior cleaning, replacement of water coolers, making six showers operable, installing doors on toilet rooms, removing unsafe front wings, replacing HVAC units, landscaping and repairing or replacing five exhaust vents. The RFQ also requires vendors to hold cooperative purchasing agreements, licenses and insurance and to comply with applicable procurement and public-works laws.

“J3 was the most comprehensive. They met every single part of the scope of work and they hit the quantities that we needed,” Okconor said, recommending the board move forward with J3. She said a three-person review panel scored proposals anonymously; J3 received 297 points, National Construction 280 and White Sands 272.

Board members asked about site work and drainage. One trustee asked whether the J3 quote included dirt work and engineered fill for rear flooding; Okconor said the RFQ calls for scooping and grading the front, installing a catch basin for drainage in front of the fieldhouse, and placing fabric and rock as part of the landscaping work.

Okconor said two bidders attended the walk-through and that staff would notify the awardee the next day and request a start date. The RFQ requires substantial completion by Aug. 1; Okconor said liquidated damages are set at $250 per day for missed substantial-completion deadlines.

A board member moved to approve J3’s bid “as presented,” the motion was seconded, and the chair declared the motion carried.

The board’s action authorizes district staff to begin contract finalization and to notify J3 to prepare for an early start date. Specific contract documents, contract amount and start date were not stated during the meeting.