Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-25-2025; 6-a - Project Management Options for School Construction 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 20, 2025 Action Agenda Item No. 6-a SUBJECT: Project Management Options for School Construction DEPARTMENT: County Manager ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Project Management Structures Pros and Kirk Vaughn, (919) 245-2153 Cons Presentation — Orange County - Bond Program Management PURPOSE: To continue discussion on how to approach project management for school projects and to provide direction to staff. BACKGROUND: Over the past two years, the County has developed a plan to fund the construction of new and renovated school facilities through the passage of the bond referendum. During this planning period, the School Capital Needs Workgroup and Board members have identified the importance of project management in successfully completing these projects. However, the exact model of project management for the upcoming bond construction period has yet to be decided by the County and the Districts. At the January 21, 2025, Business Meeting, the Board began a discussion on Project Management, but adjourned early due to inclement weather. At the meeting, Board members requested additional information from experts to help inform the Board. County staff reached out to Jessica Killian, Director of Program Management at Turner & Townsend Heery. In that role, Ms. Killian has managed components of project and program management in major capital programs for Guilford County Schools, as well as Beaufort County Schools in South Carolina, Douglas County Schools District in Colorado, and Mapleton Public Schools in Colorado. In those four projects, Ms. Killian has provided management for nearly $2.7 billion dollars in school capital investment. Ms. Killian will discuss some of the complexities and considerations around project management that the County should consider in its decision. Ms. Killian will also differentiate the concept of "program management", which includes all the oversight and coordination of multiple projects, from the broader concept of "project management". The County or Districts can utilize firms such as Turner & Towsend Heery or Woolpert to provide this overarching program management of the multiple projects to ensure consistency of projects, alignment of Board principles, and realize some efficiencies. Individual projects would still require project management to ensure the projects are completed on time and in budget. Ms. Killian previously presented to the Chapel Hill- Carrboro City School District Finance, Facilities and Operations Board Subcommittee on the pros and cons of different delivery methods. 2 Under State Statute, the school districts are responsible for school construction, and as such are responsible for management, design, and construction oversight. Under the current model, the districts hire either staff or a firm to provide program or project management, both for the annual maintenance of existing facilities and for new construction. The school districts make all contracts, decisions and payments regarding school construction and then bill the County for reimbursement. The districts do not construct new facilities very frequently. The most recent new school was the major renovation of Chapel Hill High School from the 2016 bond. In addition, both districts had issues spending down their maintenance funding during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The County encouraged both districts to expand their project management staff and fund them through the Supplemental Deferred Maintenance funds. The County has identified these existing balances as resources to implement the Woolpert recommendations and will work with the Districts to create a plan that is consistent with the principles of the Woolpert recommendations using those existing balances. Unspent Capital Funds New Funding Available Maintenance Chapel Hill-Carrboro City $ $ Schools 6,609,365.29 16,224,511.00 $ 22,833,876.29 Orange County Schools 27,510,418.97 16,060,560.00 $ 43,570,978.97 Total 34,119,784.26 32,285,071.00 $ 66,404,855.26 Either district can also agree to allow the County to assume project management, contracting, and oversight responsibilities through an Interlocal Agreement (ILA). That could allow the County to provide additional control over the selection of the architect, project delivery method, processing change orders and ultimate project delivery. The County could not compel the districts to enter into these agreements, other than withholding bond funding. Therefore, the County would likely need to work collaboratively with the districts to codify any responsibility sharing and reporting tasks. The Board can discuss how it wishes to proceed on these options and direct staff on how to engage with the school districts on this conversation. There are no decision points for this meeting for the Board. However, funds for design on school construction are planned to be authorized on July 1, 2025 as part of the Capital Investment Plan. FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no immediate financial impact with this discussion. The proposed Bond Plan included setting aside $1 million each year for Project Management from the Pay-Go Funds, starting in Fiscal Year 2025-26. ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PLAN: This item supports: • GOAL 5: PUBLIC EDUCATION/LEARNING COMMUNITY OBJECTIVE 4. Improve learning environments by investing in facilities over a 10-year period that address repair, renovation, and educational adequacy needs. OBJECTIVE 5. Invest in and implement a plan that supports schools operational and facility funding needs. 3 RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board receive the presentation, discuss how to approach project management for school projects, and provide direction to staff. 4 PROJECT MANAGEMENT MODELS ,tip J1 Use of • Funds District School Staff have the best Districts would have to build Provide funding to school Managed PM understandings of the capacity to properly manage districts to expand PM. requirements in school projects. County oversight County can add (Current construction. Most would be indirect. Districts additional FTE to review Process) responsive to eventual could have different levels of projects, manage users of the facility. success. meetings and report to the board. County Economies of Scale on County staff not as familiar County will directly hire Controlled running multiple projects with DPI requirements. Project Management. simultaneously. Equity in County is more removed from PM design/construction final users of school buildings. decisions between districts. Joint All stakeholders are Unless roles are very clearly Both County and School Management recognized in process. defined, decisions will have Project Management will unclear or duplicated be funded, based on the approvals. Delaying projects split of responsibilities. and causing overruns. 5 1 - - Heery Orange Count — Bond Y = -! Program Management Pill Industry Perspective and Discussion -- ��`��,.� ���� +��� ?� February 20,2025 - `w,l�■■■wwwi■ww �� -- We transform together. The objective 3 Review of Project and Program Discuss how Orange County Discuss the impacts to Orange Management can utilize Program County Schools and Chapel Management Hill-Carrboro City Schools z 7 Introduction Jessica Killian, PE, PMP rj c Director — Program Management B.S. Arch Eng, M. Eng. Construction Management BEAUFORT COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT,2023 BOND PROGRAM I BEAUFORT, `` SC I $439M i '1l PROGRAM EXECUTIVE. Following the success of the 2019 bond,voters approved a (9 new referendum in 2023 to continue making improvements to District facilities. Heery is providing Owner's Representation and Construction Management-Agent Services in 4 a staff augmentation role and working closely with the existing facilities department employees. y 1 'L 0 �4 Ili'•� GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS-OWNER'S REPRESENTATION I GUILFORD COUNTY,NC I $1.7B � ��'` PROGRAM EXECUTIVE. Owner's representative services for the program scope • development and initiation, site acquisition,pre-construction,construction,and post- occupancy phases of projects up to$1.7 billion in capital improvements under GCS' ' 2022 bond program.Services also include cost estimating and controls services. s .3611 DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOND PROGRAM I CASTLE ROCK,CO I •ti '. ■ "r, $330M PROGRAM MANAGER. Program Manager for Douglas County School District,the third largest school district in Colorado,running a nearly$330 million bond program ■ after they passed a school funding bond for the first time in ten years.This ' ll experience required developing new processes to track projects,establishing financial reporting to communicate to internal staff and the external community,and working II with many different project teams as we implemented over$1 million a day in projects during the summer of 2021, in addition to multiple other"summer wonder" IwS. T years,as well as projects at occupied educational and administrative buildings during the school year. .• { MAPLETON PUBLIC SCHOOLS$200M BOND PROGRAM I DENVER,CO I $200M PROGRAM MANAGER. Program Manager for a nearly$200 million K-12 bond + tC program for Mapleton Public Schools,which consisted of over 10 new-build and + { 1S addition elementary and high school projects on multiple occupied campuses.At any given point during this four year program,Jessica was managing 3-4$20 million school projects in various stages of design and construction,in addition to the master budget,cash flow,and schedule for the entire program.These projects consisted primarily of Design/Build delivery. R 1h 8 Program Vs Project Management Program Management Project Management What Happens at the Program Level? What Happens at the Project Level? ❑ Establish Program Goals ❑ Procurement of Design and Construction Teams ❑ Develop/Validate Budget Magnitude ❑ Project-Level Budgeting and Scheduling ❑ Includes cash flow ❑ Cost estimates ❑ Develop/Validate Schedule Adequacy ❑ Critical path schedules ❑ Develop Project Management Plan ❑ Design Specifications and Standards ❑ Consistent strategies ❑ Bid evaluations ❑ Consistent reporting ❑ Design Phase Coordination and Oversight ❑ Define Roles and Responsibilities ❑ Construction Phase Coordination and Oversight ❑ Levels of authority and key checkpoints ❑ Other Vendor Coordination (FF&E, Materials Testing, ❑ Public Relations/Communications Strategy Commissioning) ESTABLISH COMPREHENSIVE AND CONSISTENT APPROACH FACILITATING PROJECT PROGRESS AND COMPLETION Turner&Townsend Heery 4 9 Why Program Management? ❑ Adequate Planning ❑ Program management ensures that a plan is developed from the beginning to ensure achievement of all goals, no matter the timing ❑ Consistent Decision Making ❑ When a program manager is wrapped around project management, ■ there is a singular point of contact to ensure consistency of approach ❑ Clarity for Decision Makers • • ❑ A well-structured Project Management Plan identifies stakeholders and their roles, and puts decision making at the lowest effective level ❑ Experts at Every Level ❑ A Program Manager is focused on the long-term results and the high- level approach to implementation ❑ A Project Manager is focused on the day-to-day of the project and facilitating short-term,tangible outcomes ❑ Efficiency of Approach ❑ One team working together to achieve results at all levels Turner&Townsend Heery Confidential 5 10 Multi-Tiered Approach In One Team Program Management Project Management _L E 6 60 County-Level Program Management District-Level Project Management ❑ Master Budget for all Bond Projects ❑ Detailed Project Budget based on Project-Specific Scope ❑ Aligned cash flow ❑ Variances in site, scope, use addressed ❑ Consistently defined budget for each project ❑ Detailed Project Scheduled based on Project-Specific Scope ❑ Master Schedule for all Bond Projects ❑ Adjustments based on project and capacity of the District ❑ Aligned cash flow ❑ Incorporates coordination with the County ❑ Transparency of expectations ❑ Project-specific contact to focus responsibility ❑ Single Point of Contact ❑ Expertise and accountability at the project level ❑ Consistent reporting ❑ Dedicated professional with experience in the project ❑ Consistent decision making ❑Accountability to OCBOC Major Project Planning Policy ❑ Prioritization of OCBOC Major Project Planning Policy ❑ Project-specific design standards aligned to District LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PROGRAM FOR SOLUTIONS ALIGNING THE SOLUTION WITH DISTRICT NEEDS Turner&Townsend Heery 6 11 Orange County Program Management ❑ As the Funding Authority, Orange County's cash flow must align with bond cash flow model and construction cash flow ❑ Utilizing a Program Manager provides industry expertise to provide an overall funding (budget management) and execution (schedule management) strategy that meets the needs of all three stakeholders ❑ Time = Money: What maximizes the financial impact of the County and the educational mandate of the Districts? ❑ Transparency of communication and consistent deliverables will build trust and buy-in ❑ Communication and reporting will be from a singular point of contact and all project information will be readily available ❑ The Orange County Board of Commissioners Major Project Planning Policy Addendum will be consistently applied ❑ Knowledgeable and dedicated team provides expertise and efficiency ❑ An equitable implementation of approach reduces questions and confusion Turner&Townsend Heery Confidential 7 12 Impacts to School District Equitable Decision Defined Project Collaborative Process Defined Plan Making Authority ❑ With consistent Program ❑ Authorization for project- ❑ Program Manager and ❑ The program plan is Management,the County's level decisions is established Project Managers are developed now so it can be decisions are equitably at the beginning of the empowered to work cleanly executed moving applied to the School Program collaboratively for a solution forward Districts by knowing needs of the ❑ Funding, Design,and ❑ Adjustments to the plan are ❑ There is a clear line of Planning roles and County and the District(s) made in agreement with the communication between the responsibilities should be ❑ Project status can be quickly ILA and the stakeholders County and the Districts established by an ILA and clearly communicated ❑ A Program Manager because of the Program because no team is working ❑ Places decision making at maintains the big picture Manager who contracts the the lowest level in a silo focus to achieve project Project Managers ❑ Minimize the"blame game" success for the whole bond Turner&Townsend Heery Confidential $ 13 DISCUSSION ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA I� HMEL HILL- P- Orange ORO County CITY SCHOOLS Schools NORTH CAROLINA Turner&Townsend Heery Confidential 9 Charter Square 555 Fayetteville Street Suite 300 Raleigh North Carolina 27601 USA +1 813 687 5031 jessica.killian@turntown.com ©Turner&Townsend Heery,LLC This content is for general information purposes only and does not purport to constitute professional advice. We do not make any representation or give any warranty,express or implied,and shall not be liable for any losses or damages whatsoever, arising from reliance on information contained in this document. It must not be made available or copied or otherwise quoted or referred to in whole or in part in any way,including orally,to any other party without our express written permission and we accept no liability of whatsoever nature for any use by any other party.