Officials fear that the $20.855 million project won’t attract competitive bids.

Boiler room repairs at Blakely Elementary: $3,600.

Septic improvements at Wilkes: $315,000.

A shiny new building at Bainbridge High School: $20.855 million.

The search for a contractor who can build the latter structure within your budget: fruitless?

That question mark is fast becoming a barb in the confidence of school officials as they look toward the March bid for the high school renovation project.

Though still five months away, they are worried about what the design will actually cost once it leaps from paper to its perch on the north side of High School Road.

After months spent whittling away at drawings and spreadsheets, Capital Projects Director Tamela VanWinkle said she is certain the design team has done everything in its power to attract builders.

Less certain, she said, is the prognosis for a bidding climate that remains hazy at best.

“I believe we have an opportunity to attract contractors,” said VanWinkle, who has been following closely the progress of other school districts’ capital projects. “But there are very few (recent) projects that have bid within budget.”

Indeed, according to a study by the Robinson Company, a construction cost estimate group working with the district, of 38 school projects across the region that received bids this year, only six of the low bids met school district cost projections.

Those numbers echo recent trends in a construction industry dealing with fluctuating costs and labor shortages, which have in turn led to unpredictable prices.

Meanwhile, as some $2 billion worth of school projects come online throughout the state, Bainbridge Island School District is looking to build a new 70,000-square-foot building that will house classrooms, administrative and student services, a commons and library.

According to district officials, meeting the budget is paramount. Designers in August cut about 40 elements from the plans to save $3.55 million.

But despite that – and despite saving nearly $2 million on other capital projects completed over the summer – the project is still $665,459 over budget.

That includes a $145,311 low-impact development grant awarded this week to the district by the state Department of Ecology. With no more grant money expected, VanWinkle said additional trimming will be done in the coming weeks to make up the difference.

But with construction set to begin next summer, the district is also taking steps to differentiate itself from the competition and make the project more appealing to contractors, who will ultimately determine the building’s cost.

VanWinkle is developing a brochure and will soon begin advertising in the newspaper. She and designers from Mahlum Architects have already begun talking with builders to make sure they’re aware of the project.

The challenges, she says, are many.

In addition to increased competition – including a renovation to Bremerton High School that is set to go to bid next month – Bainbridge is hindered in other ways.

Being on an island, for example, provides accessibility problems for builders, who might have to shuttle workers back and forth from Seattle to work on the project.

Also, because public projects are subject to more regulations than private ones, school districts must find other ways to compete for the services of contractors, VanWinkle said.

Don Drury, of Poulsbo-based Drury Construction, well known for its many island projects, said his company considers a number of factors before deciding whether to bid on a project.

Workload and potential risks are important, as is the expected completion time. In many cases, Drury said, school projects must be done quickly, with a limited amount of time allotted for the purchase of materials. Also, contractors must pay someone to study documents as they prepare to bid, a process that can take several weeks.

Many times, though, it comes down to timing. Drury said he doesn’t know what his schedule will look like come March – that depends largely on what projects become available.

“If we were to bid on the Bremerton (high school) project and get it, it’s possible we wouldn’t bid on anything else for a year,” he said.

Bid climate

VanWinkle said the district chose to send the BHS project to bid in March to ensure there would be plenty of time to prepare for the summer work.

Also, in order to allow the chosen contractor enough time to purchase materials and store them on-site, she said the contract will be awarded quickly.

But along with the uncertain bidding climate lingers another concern.

Inaccurate cost estimates for other recently-completed capital projects have raised some questions among school board members about the reliability of the high school estimate.

The new gym floor at Blakely Elementary, for example, came in at $25,000 under the projected cost. In total, the inaccuracies actually saved the district almost $2 million.

While the savings were positive, VanWinkle said she understood why the large discrepancies might make some nervous.

Some were simply mistakes. But most, she said, were due the the fact that the estimates included consulting and other fees that she was able to eliminate by completing portions of the projects “in-house,” something that won’t be possible on the larger high school project.

School board president Bruce Weiland lauded VanWinkle for finding ways to save money and said he trusts the high school estimates, in part because the designs are approaching the final stages of refinement.

“We’re now at the point where we’re literally counting studs,” he said. “None of that exactitude was possible before.”

As for finding a bidder, Weiland said he’s hopeful.

“It’s very volatile,” he said. “We’re using our best possible controls, but there are still risks and the public should know that. That said, I have a lot of faith in Tamela and the design team.”

VanWinkle, meanwhile, is just hoping for a favorable climate come March.

“I can’t guarantee there will be 10 contractors beating down our door to build this,” she said. “But we’re doing what we can to attract them.”