The Springfield Public Schools Board of Education awarded three construction projects at its meeting Tuesday night, but one of the decisions has local architects in a tizzy.
The board awarded the $2.7 million expansion of Jeffries Elementary School to Dake Wells Architecture and the $7.3 million remodel at Hillcrest High School to Esterly Schneider & Associates.
But the point of contention was the board's decision to hire Omaha, Neb.-based BCDM Inc. to design a $9.3 million expansion at Westport Elementary School. The Springfield chapter of the American Institute of Architects expressed concern about giving the work, funded by a $50 million bond issue supported by local taxpayer dollars and approved in November, to an out-of-area company.
"Architects rely substantially on commercially-funded projects to support their businesses, and the result has been a huge amount of lay-offs for our peers, through no fault of their own," AIA Springfield President Gerri Kielhofner said in a letter sent to the board last week. "A project the scope of Westport Elementary School takes a tremendous amount of work by an architectural firm to complete, and awarding this project to a local architectural firm will preserve scarce jobs for local architects."
The selection of architecture firms actually begins with a committee of SPS employees, according to SPS Director of Capital Construction Scott Wendt. The committee narrows down candidates based on annually submitted statements of qualifications.
Once five finalists have been selected, a recommendation is made based on several criteria: specialized experience and technical competence, the firm's ability to handle the work, past record of performance with the district, and familiarity with the area and the district. Wendt said the exact bid amount is negotiated with the winning firm after board approval.
Wendt said the board's current policy does not include a preference for local firms, though board members mentioned at the meeting that they might consider adding such a provision in the future.
"You also have to look at how you define local - do you look at city limits, the southwest Missouri area, a mileage? It sounds easy to say we want local preference, but the board would have to figure out how to define local," Wendt said, adding that such a policy could cause public entities in other parts of the state to set up similar policies, reducing local firms' ability to work outside the area. "Every architecture and engineering firm does work out of the area - they couldn't survive if their entire business was just work in Springfield."
Kielhofner told SBJ Wednesday that AIA is very disappointed in the decision, but added that while the definition of local has not been discussed, she is encouraged that the board is considering changing its policy.
"We just want to move forward," Kielhofner said. "We're hopeful, since they said they might want to allow for selection only of local professionals - we're excited to hear about that."
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
