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Hillsboro School District puzzled by large bids for small school-based health clinic
Jul 05, 2012 (The Oregonian - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Trying to build a school-based health center in the Hillsboro School District has been a lesson in patience and, lately, a bit puzzling.
Unable to draw a bid on par with its federal and county funding, the district is rebidding the project for a third time.
"We're ready to go," said Bill Thomas, director of the Washington County Commission on Children and Families. "The only thing standing in the way of kids' health are these bids."
After three years of the Hillsboro School Board debating the merits and funding of the clinic, the district finally put the project out for bids in February. But the proposals came in too high -- between $458,700 and $574,500 -- for an 1,800 square foot modular building and site work.
"You could buy a house in Lake Oswego for that," said Thomas, who has worked with other Washington County school districts on similar clinics.
Next time around, the city of Hillsboro helped lower project costs by waiving a traffic impact fee of $30,000, Washington County contributed $27,000 to the clinic construction and the district reduced the scope of the project. But the second set of bids in May were even higher -- between $493,200 and $624,000.
"Everybody is just baffled by it," said Loren Rogers, Hillsboro School District executive director of facilities, planning, and property.
The bids for the modulars, alone, ranged from $203,000 to $380,000. The building is similar to a portable classrooms seen on school campuses.
This time around, the district is redrafting its plans and will ask for bids on a "stick-built" clinic, constructed from the ground up, hoping the bids are lower. The request for proposals will be issued in July.
The district has federal and county funds totaling $560,000 for the entire project that must be spent by September 2013. Of the total, about $414,300 was estimated for the modular and sitework, said Adam Stewart, Hillsboro School District chief financial officer.
The remaining $145,700 is needed to pay for architect, engineering and consulting fees; hazardous materials testing; phone, data and technology lines; furnishings, permits and other expenses, he said.
One of the complications of the project is the federal funding, which mandates that the total project budget be included in the request for bids. Typically, that number is unknown making the process more competitive.
"It doesn't help to go out looking for a low bid and to have everybody know how much money you have to spend," Stewart said.
The clinic is destined for a section of the parking lot at Century High School.
Tuality Healthcare has agreed to operate and staff the center, which takes students and employees from across the district, including those without insurance.
A nurse practitioner and a mental health provider will staff the clinic and offer everything from sports physicals to immunizations and obesity counseling.
It would be the fourth such clinic in Washington County, following Beaverton, Tigard-Tualatin and Forest Grove school districts.
The clinic at Forest Grove High School, which opened in 2009, is similar to the Hillsboro project. Forest Grove completed the 1,800-square foot double-modular for $477,000. Since then, construction costs have declined.
"Construction firms are desperate to keep their crews active and have cut rates on traditional homes," said Gerard Mildner, director of the Portland State University Center for Real Estate.
But he said the costs for modulars might follow a different pattern because they are manufactured at a factory or may be in higher demand.
Those in the modular industry, however, said they were hit by the recession the same as the rest of the construction industry and have lowered prices to compete.
"Factories with overhead, they have to sell product," said Jim Rasmussen, president of Modern Building Systems, which manufactures modular structures in Aumsville.
Based on the economy, the cost of the modular for Hillsboro should be less than the $210,000 price tag on the clinic in Forest Grove, but Rasmussen, whose company bid on the project, said it comes down to what goes into the structure.
The architect's specifications for the interior might be more costly than those on the Forest Grove clinic, he said.
Modern Building Systems Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ken Merowas familiar with the Hillsboro project and said the biggest cost is hooking up to water, sewer and electric because of its location.
"The distance to get utilities is ghastly," he said.
--Wendy Owen
Follow @wowen1
___ (c)2012 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.)
at www.oregonian.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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