LAWA board authorizes procurement for construction-manager-at-risk to speed Biota plant work

Consultants outlined how a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) could overlap pre-construction work with design to shave roughly a year off the delivery schedule, enable early bid packages (deep foundations, mass concrete), and produce a guaranteed maximum price during design. "I think we could save about a year off from the design by starting to work with a CMAR contractor," Paul said in the presentation.

Board members asked detailed questions about cost certainty, CMAR markup (presented range 4–10%), statutory procurement steps and examples from Grand Forks and Fargo. Staff emphasized that the RFQ/RFP process is the next step and that multiple board approvals would be required later (selection, pre-construction agreement, and GMP). The motion to develop procurement documents and begin the CMAR selection process carried on a roll call.