Rival members of Muscogee County School Board in rare agreement, help convince superintendent to pull agenda item
Rival members of the Muscogee County School Board were in rare agreement at Monday night's work session as they helped convince the superintendent to pull an agenda item.
Board vice chairwoman Pat Hugley Green of District 1 and Frank Myers of District 8 led the objections, and superintendent David Lewis agreed to delay his recommendations for the architects who will design the projects funded by the 1 percent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax county voters approved in March.
According to the agenda, Lewis was prepared to recommend architects - all local firms -- for the following projects:
Spencer High School building replacement: Hecht Burdeshaw and 2WR.
Retrofit existing space for autistic students: Sudhir Patel.
Northside High School cafeteria, weight and wrestling rooms: Sudhir Patel.
Shaw High School additions: a minority-owned architecture firm to be announced, although there isn't a local one.
Fort Middle School gym replacement: Neal Kendust & Murray.
Weight rooms for Columbus, Jordan and Kendrick high schools: Neal Kendust & Murray.
Kinnett Staidum upgrade: Neal Kendust & Murray.
Upgrades to baseball and softball fields at Hardaway, Shaw, Jordan, Kendrick and Columbus: French & Associates.
Cafeteria and auditorium upgrades at Arnold, Clubview, Eddy, Hardaway, Columbus and Kendrick: Sudhir Patel.
Sports complex for system-wide use at site of the new Spencer High: Barnes Gibson Patel and French & Associates.
Shaw High School reroofing: Kersey and Luttrell.
Board policy requires at least one of the SPLOST projects to be designed by a minority-owned firm. Green wondered aloud how a to-be-announced architect could be assigned a project without knowing which architect will be selected.
Kia Chambers, the nine-member board's lone county-wide representative, said she would be uncomfortable approving a list that isn't complete.
Myers told Green, "It's a rare time that you and I agree on something." Then he questioned the wisdom of approving all the architects at one time, considering that some of the projects might not be started for several years.
John Thomas of District 2 concurred.
"It seems unreasonable," he said. "Personnel can change. Companies can go out of business."
Based on the consensus of the board, Lewis pulled his architect recommendations from the agenda, so they won't be voted on during next Monday night's meeting. Instead, he agreed to bring the board architect recommendations next month that will cover only the Phase I SPLOST construction projects and include the name of the minority-owned architecture firm his administration has selected. The Phase I SPLOST construction projects, and their budgeted costs, are:
Spencer High School building replacement: $56 million.
Enhancements to the arts academy project, which already had $30 million approved in the previous SPLOST and already has Hecht Burdeshaw approved as the architect: $6 million.
Retrofit existing space for autistic students: $3.5 million.
Kinnett Stadium upgrade: $3.175 million
Fort Middle School gym replacement: $2.9 million.
Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.
This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 9:47 PM with the headline "Rival members of Muscogee County School Board in rare agreement, help convince superintendent to pull agenda item ."