County picks manager, contractor for new administration building

Supervisor questions need for dual roles in project

The new Yuma County administration building project is moving forward with the selection of a project manager and a construction manager. However, one supervisor questioned the need for the dual roles.

The board approved Kitchell Corp. of Phoenix as the project manager of the design/pre-construction phase after the first company dropped out.

The board also OK’d Pilkington Construction Co. of Yuma as the “construction manager at risk” of the new building to be located at 197 S. Main St.

The county had previously approved Arcadis, a design and engineering firm, to perform as the project manager. However, they bowed out because “they felt their staff requirements didn’t line up with what our team was looking for,” said David Hylland, the county’s construction projects director.

After putting out another request for proposals, the supervisors approved the fee proposal of $415,300 submitted by Kitchell.

However, Supervisor Jonathan Lines questioned the need to “go outside” the county instead of “hiring somebody for a lot less.”

“I have a reservation because we’re hiring one contractor to manage another contractor,” Lines noted.

Hylland explained that the size of the project requires a team approach and that the project manager is not directly involved with the construction activity. It’s more of an administrative function in charge of developing the overall construction schedule, coordinating the efforts of the design team and closely interacting with the construction manager.

“Isn’t that why we pay the contractor, though, to work with the architect to develop the schedule? It just seems an unnecessary expense because we’re already paying an architect to establish the construction methodology and, as a contractor, it just gets a little frustrating when you’ve got that third party and you’re not dealing directly with the contract and you’re not dealing directly with the architect,” Lines said.

Hylland noted that the project manager acts as an extension of the county and the “construction manager at risk” approach has three elements, contractor, design team and owner, which in this case, is Yuma County, with Kitchell working as the county’s representative.

Chairman Tony Reyes pointed out that it’s a $36 million project, and “even though I trust the county staffers to know a lot about this, they have no experience doing this,” he said.

He noted that an extra set of eyes might help keep costs down.

“If a project this size goes haywire, the cost is immensely larger and the time frame involved in resolving something once it’s done is a lot higher than it would be to have a set of eyes of people who do this for a living.”

He added: “I don’t see it as our representative working with the contractor. I see it as representing the county’s interest in working with the contractor. Sort of like a middle man that knows a lot more than we do in how things can go.”

The board voted 4-0 to approve the contract with Porchas excused.

The supervisors also approved the selection of Pilkington Construction as the construction manager at risk at a fee of $281,350. After seeking proposals and interviewing two firms, a selection committee recommended the highest-scoring firm, Pilkington.

“Let me just flat out say, I am really happy to have a local company, a well known local company,” Reyes said, “This process is tough as it is, but how do we choose the company that’s out of town to do a project like this? It’s a very critical project, as far as I’m concerned. It’s probably, most probably, the last buildings we’ll build in a long time.”

Reyes noted that construction projects can be “unpredictable” and “having someone early that may look at this from a different perspective is always a good idea.”

Hylland further explained the “construction manager at risk” delivery method, calling the “threelegged” collaboration “very beneficial” as many aspects of project risk execution are passed to the contractor, reducing the owner’s potential overall risks.

The method is geared towards schools and governments “that are very budget conscious and wards of public funds and need to deliver a cost-effective project,” Hylland noted.

By joining the project about halfway through the design process, the contractor is part of the remainder of the design process. “By doing so, they’re able to contribute to things such as materials to be used, methods of construction and so on, in an effort to keep our costs down,” Hylland said.

He will return to the board in the fall with a guaranteed maximum price for demolishing the existing building and making the site ready for construction. The hope is to demolish the building in the fall.

“That’s going to reveal any last final issues that may come up going forward as we complete the design process and get the documents issued for permit,” Hylland noted.

Then, in early 2023, Hylland will present to the board the contractor’s guaranteed maximum price for the construction of the new building. Once Yuma County accepts the guaranteed maximum price, any additional costs become the obligation of the contractor.

Reyes thanked Pilkington team members Clint Harrington and Chris Pilkington. “The only thing I want to say before you leave is, please expedite the process. I mean, take your time, but at the same time remember we’d like to see it during our lifetime,” he quipped.

The board voted 5-0 to approve the contract.