NEDERLAND —The Nederland Independent School District board of trustees voted to approve a contract with the architectural firm IBI after an hour spent combing through and analyzing the agreement during a school board meeting Wednesday.

Members of the board made it clear that the job of making sure every dime of the $155.6 million bond is accounted for falls on their shoulders.

Members of the board questioned IBI principal Fred Simpson about how the money would be spent under given circumstances.

The meeting left an impression on Simpson, who said of the contract discussion, “I have never been a part of anything like this before.”

IBI was the firm behind recent upgrades and new buildings in Hamshire-Fannett and Bridge City.

Simpson also dispelled any notion that the projects could come in under budget.

“Usually, in my 28 years of experience, we more often have too many items in the basket and have to prioritize what we need,” he said.

Most of the direct questions for Simpson were in regard to what counted as basic services as opposed to additional services. Simpson told the board items under additional services, such as landscaping, retention ponds, graphic designs etc. all fall within the budget but are lumped under additional services.

The second point of concern came when the board discussed moving projects to an hourly rate, to which Simpson replied that any foreseeable changes along those lines are “more than covered in the budget.”

Simpson hinted at which project might be first on the list.

The IBI principal said the renovations to Bulldog Stadium could begin “soon” but did not give a specific time frame.

Before a time frame can be established, the architectural firm will meet with the shareholders for a workshop to discuss which projects are done, and in what order. Each of the projects will require a separate workshop where shareholders and the firm will go over specific details of each project.

 

See also: 10 years in the making: NISD high school, stadium upgrade bonds pass