School board members had sticker shock when they saw the latest price tag for Key West High School’s new football stadium and baseball complex.
Expecting to approve a $2 million price change at the March 12 meeting in Marathon, the board instead was hit with a $4 million tag — and then learned that it was paying for a smaller building than expected.
The change order from Ajax Building Co. was for additional amenities the board had requested for the baseball team’s Rex Weech Field, including a new concession building with restrooms, a raised plaza area and a new entrance.
Instead of the expected $2 million additional costs, the board was presented with a change order for $3.95 million.
Board member Darren Horan, of Key West, said at the start of the discussion that he would not approve the change order for double the amount that was anticipated.
“So we have a smaller building and a less elevated plaza for twice what we originally thought it was going to be?” Horan asked Pat Lefere, the school district’s director of operations and planning.
“Yes, that’s a fair assessment,” Lefere told him, adding that there were “some unforeseen costs” pertaining to sprinkler systems, the wastewater system and utility work.
“Well, in light of that. I’m going to tell everybody I’m not going to approve this,” Horan said. “I’m not going to approve it. Change orders in my mind, I can justify $500,000. But anything over a million dollars, that’s a substantial amount of money — $2 million more than we were told. I want to make sure that everything is on the level. We have people out there who can bring something different to the table, as opposed to just saying, ‘All right, this is what Ajax is going to cost. I can’t reconcile that. I don’t know if the rest of the board can, but for $4 million, I think we should go back out to bid for that.”
A lengthy discussion followed, with board member Mindy Conn questioning Lefere about the new concession building and the cases that were supposed to be included in it to display the baseball team’s memorabilia from its 11 state championships.
“This doesn’t look like what we were originally shown; I have the original renderings right here,” Conn said.
Lefere said he would look into that.
The board ultimately decided to postpone a decision on the $4 million change order until its April 9 meeting, which will take place in Key West — a more relevant location for a discussion about the Key West High School stadium, whose overall cost — if the $4 million change is ultimately approved — will reach $23.6 million.
Lefere agreed to bring itemized estimates and more specific cost explanations from Ajax to the April 9 meeting, but told the board not to expect the price of that change order to decrease at all.
And any decision to rebid any part of the project would surely result in a delay, he added.
The board next meets April 9 at 4:30 p.m. in the Key West City Hall.
