Forma Construction is expected to be the primary contractor to rebuild Yelm Middle School and Southworth Elementary — two of Yelm Community School’s most decrepit and aged facilities — according to bid numbers and qualification scoring published Thursday, May 16. 

Kasey Wyatt, project manager for the bond, said she and Yelm Community Schools Chief of Finance and Operations Toni Bernethy will make a recommendation to the Board of Directors to award a contract to Forma at their Thursday, May 23, meeting. 

Yelm Community Schools officials got an early look Thursday at the two bids submitted to rebuild the schools. The two local firms, Abscher Construction and Forma Construction, were asked by the district to put in a bid following interviews and site visits. Interviews were held Monday, May 13, for the final three firms. 

Forma’s total bid came in at $5,143,731 with a fee of 4.713 percent for the two projects. Abscher’s came in at $5,350,334 with a fee of 4.72 percent. 

Both were scored by the district’s GCCM Selection Committee on their statement of qualification, interview and fee proposals, Wyatt said. Forma scored a 92 out of 100 possible points and Abscher scored 85.61. 

The selected firm will rebuild the schools as a sole GCCM (General Contractor/Construction Manager) contractor. A GCCM is the primary contractor that will manage the construction, take part in the design process, cover pre-construction costs and subcontract work for the project. This type of contracting is an alternative to the typical “design-bid-build” process school districts use to build or remodel schools. 

Because GCCM contractors are so heavily involved, risk and fault for the district is mitigated, Wyatt said. GCCM contractors are also chosen not just on their bid but on merit, qualifications and expertise, which Wyatt says is important. 

“I think that it’s important that people understand its weighted toward qualification and experience and not so much about fee,” Wyatt said.  

The effort to rebuild the two schools is part of a larger bond measure that was passed in February by voters. Security upgrades will also be installed at every school in the district as part of the bond.  

Earlier this month, Superintendent Brian Wharton said in a commentary published in the Nisqually Valley News that the district had successfully sold all the bonds required to build this project during a single selling point. 

“On May 2, the district participated in the bond pricing sale with our underwriters at DA Davidson. The results were such that we were able to sell all the bonds for the project. The original plan was to have two sales to ensure that we would meet our promise to voters in terms of their property tax rate,” Wharton wrote. 

Wyatt said the district’s GCCM Selection Committee looked at schools from Auburn all the way down to Centralia. Forma chose Jefferson-Lincoln Elementary in Centralia for their site visit.