Secrets of the Administration Building Revealed!

Mr. Moseley, the architect, revealed that 4 construction companies had placed bids in response to his advertisement for the WCID #89 Administration Building. All four bids were over the amount budgeted, so the decision was made to revise the specifications for the building and request new bids. If you want to know what all was requested in the original posting, please click here. It also includes documents referring to the soil and groundwater conditions of the building site, which was also discussed at the special meeting on 6/26/12 -- apparently there are some additional costs anticipated due to these conditions.

Target Design and Management had the lowest bid which they have posted on their website, and you can view Teal Construction's bid info online here. The other two construction companies offering bids were Bass Construction and Comex Construction. Teal Construction's online documents include information about the left turn lane, which is being required by Harris County to get construction permits. Apparently the County doesn't want to impede traffic on Fellows Road to their Tom Bass Park, so they are requiring a left turn lane be created to enter the Administration Building. Mr. Moseley indicated the cost of that would be approximately $75,000 in addition to the cost of the building itself.

I asked if there would be a need for the left turn lane if the site of the building were inside a neighborhood rather than on Fellows Road. He did not know. I also asked what types of accommodations would have to be made for the soil conditions. He said that it would require some additional expense, but he wasn't sure exactly how much or how it would be addressed.

Before this meeting I had requested the bookkeeper give a full accounting of expenses related to the Administration Building. Bottom line, $207,054 has been spent from February 2008 to the present date. $59,094 has been paid to Mr. Moseley.

Sharyn Smalls suggested that I list all the tasks/duties that go into designing, planning, and conducting the bid process when I posted this information. I attempted to do so, but I can't really say based on Google searches. I was, however, able to find the links that I have put into this posting on the bid information, Target Design, Teal Construction, and Bass Construction from my research attempts.

I invite Sharyn to comment on this posting to detail what we have received for the $59,094 spent. There was also a $2484 payment made to Frank Clements for professional design services. I'm not sure who he is, but I have in my notes that his work was primarily for the kitchen design.

In addition to the architects, A&S Engineers (which is the District's engineering firm and recipient of most of the money) Rekha Engineering, and Centertex Constructors have been paid $145,476. When I requested what those payments were for, no one had an explanation.

I have asked repeatedly for information about the Administration Building ever since I was elected to the Board in May 2010. Most of my requests have been answered with vague comments about it still being "in progress". In November 2010, Mr. Moseley did come to one of our Board meetings and showed us the building plans. Sharyn then took those plans to a Brunswick Lakes HOA meeting and answered questions.

As I continued to question why so much money had been spent on the Administration Building, with only a sign that says "Future Site of WCID #89 Administration Building" to show for it, Sharyn revealed the history of how Joe Fogarty, original developer of Brunswick Meadows, requested that the land on which Brunswick Meadows now stands be annexed to the District. As part of the original annexation agreement, he was responsible for constructing the Administration Building, which would be funded by a $500 per lot fee. To date, that $500 per lot fee has accounted for $664,480 - so roughly 31% of the money that Brunswick Meadows has contributed to the Administration Building has been spent.

When the Administration Building plans were presented to the Board in 2009, they noted that the seal was different than the architect that had been hired. Questions were asked, and  Sharyn stated that it appeared an unlicensed architect had been hired to design the building. She indicated that the Board decided at that time to take over the responsibility for the construction of the Administration Building.

So it would appear that since February 2008,  a whole lot of money was spent on something that was not being carefully supervised by the Board of Directors. Since May 2010, when AK Babers and I were elected to the Board, no details on any expenses have been brought to the Board. Sharyn has been a committee of one overseeing the Administration Building, and she stated that Arthur Washington was appointed to it just two weeks ago. I requested that I be put on the committee overseeing the Administration Building, and Arthur agreed to step down to allow me to serve in his place.

I will do my utmost to keep an eye on how the money is being spent, and make the whole Administration Building construction project more transparent to the residents of WCID #89.