Board approves slightly higher KMA fee, selects Westland to build Apex CTE buildings

The South Sanpete School District board approved a small increase in the fee proposal for KMA's design work on two Apex career-technical buildings and selected Westland as the construction manager/general contractor following a public RFP and a scored evaluation.

Administration said the architect fee rose as design detail and square footage increased. "I think it was originally $4.38 and it went to 4, 4.7 or so. It was 477," one administrator said while explaining the calculation and grant-aligned scope. The district ran a two-week RFP posting on the state procurement site, received eight proposals, and had a five-member evaluation committee score the firms. "This was a very, very close competitive process," the project lead said, and the committee recommended Westland, which the board approved by voice vote.

Board members asked whether the design process should pause until a committee finalized how the spaces will be used. The administration said a teacher-and-superintendent advisory group and industry partners are already guiding the design and that the spaces were written into the grant as flexible strands for health care, manufacturing and business/marketing. The approved contractor will now solicit subcontractor bids within the project's budget.