LOWER POTTSGROVE PA -Pottsgrove School District Business Administrator David Nester was authorized Tuesday (April 28, 2009) to begin negotiations with district architects on a contract that someday could result in the renovation and expansion of Ringing Rocks Elementary School.

Front entrance at Ringing Rocks Elementary School.

Haggling over or documenting a proposed agreement between the district and its designers does not commit the Board of School Directors to construction, nor does it mean any plans most recently discussed for Ringing, 1401 Kauffman Rd., have been finalized. Both, the board said during its meeting Tuesday in the district administration building, 1301 Kauffman Rd., are still a long way off.

The board also directed Nester and administration officials to consider contract language that would either limit the fee earned by Gilbert Architects of Lancaster PA to no more than 6 percent of the project’s total cost, or create potential financial incentives if the firm met specific goals. Among board objectives: maintaining project quality while bringing it in under estimated costs, and completing the project ahead of schedule.

What they want to avoid, board members repeatedly expressed, is a situation like the one in which the Spring-Ford Area School District now finds itself: at odds with its architect over fees because, in the current economy, construction expenses fell significantly below estimates.

“There’s got to be a way to word the contract to offer incentives to be cost-effective,” director and board Treasurer Fred Remelius suggested. “In light of what’s happening in Spring-Ford, that’s an excellent idea,” board President Michael Neiffer agreed.

Director Robert Lindgren, however, cautioned that construction quality must be a priority. “The architects need an understanding that we want a building … that’s going to last in the long term, not something we’ve got to fix 10 years later,” he said.

Lindgren also is determined to avoid glitz, glamor and trendiness. “I really want us to move away from state-of-the-art in terms of fads” in Ringing’s proposed construction, he told board colleagues, “and stick with what’s worked over time. I want our kids to get awards. I don’t care if our buildings get awards.”

Once negotiated, the board must approve any contract with Gilbert before it takes effect. Even after approval, Nester noted, the board could choose to decide not to continue with Ringing’s renovations and pay the architects only for work completed to that point. “But there is an expectation that if we enter into an agreement,” Nester said, “there will be a project.”

Related:

• Consensus On Ringing Renovations: $16M
• Ringing Rocks Proposals Aired Tuesday
• Ringing Rocks Re-Examined April 14
• Pottsgrove To Trust-But-Verify On Ringing Plans
• Ringing Rocks Plans Take Another Step
• No Shortage Of Ideas At Pottsgrove Meeting
• Weigh In On Pottsgrove Renovations
• Framing The Rocks Discussion
• Response Mixed To Pottsgrove Improvements
• District Invites Public For Study Results
• A Different Rocks, But Only As A Concept

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