Marble Falls ISD changes architects

CAPTION: An aerial view of Mustang Stadium, the practice field and parking lot behind the visitor’s side that is shared with baseball, softball and tennis. Courtesy Marble Falls Independent School District

The Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees voted to end its contract with Pfluger Architects, Inc. a month after the board voted to “pause construction” on several projects related to the May 2025 bond.

The item was one of many on the agenda of the board’s regular meeting Nov. 17.

After meeting in closed session for almost two hours, board members went back into open session at 10:21 p.m. and moved that agenda item up.

“I move that the board authorize the superintendent or his designee to terminate the architect contract with Pfluger Architects, Inc. for the May 2025 bond projects,” Place 1 Board Member Gary Boshears said.

The motion was seconded by Board Secretary Crystal Tubig and passed unanimously.

Then the board went to the next item, which also came from Boshears.

“I move that the board select Huckabee as the new architect of record for the following May 2025 bond projects: baseball, multipurpose, Max Copeland Gym locker rooms, CTE and other May 2025 bond projects and further authorize the superintendent to negotiate a contract for design and contract administration services for a fair and reasonable price and to bring back the contract for board consideration at the next available board meeting.”

It was seconded by Place 7 Member Kevin Virdell and the motion carried unanimously.

Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Jeff Gasaway told TexasChalkTalk.com Nov. 18 that staff members and school district officials spent the last few weeks being thorough in the possibilities of whether Marble Falls ISD and Pfluger Architects could continue working together.

“We took time from the last board meeting until now to just gather information, look at facts and just felt like continuing with the current trajectory was not in the best interest of our community and trying to move these bond projects forward,” he said. “And this gives us an opportunity to work with a new architect that we have worked with before, that we have a prior relationship with, that we trust and that will hopefully put us in a position to get these projects back on track as quickly as possible.”

The motion ended months of work between the school district and Pfluger Architects.

The firm did pre-bond services during the spring leading up to the May 3 election. After voters approved the bond May 3, the school district entered into another contract with Pfluger Architects May 19 for $3.275 million for “comprehensive architecture and engineering services for the softball field synthetic turf, new baseball field, multipurpose facility/auxiliary gym/weight room, Max Copeland Gym locker room additions and renovations, and CTE wing addition and renovations projects at Marble Falls High School.”

On Sept. 15, when Pfluger Associates presented sketches of the new baseball park, MFISD board members were told to prepare for a request for a guaranteed maximum price during the regular board meeting Oct. 20.

Instead, board members voted to “pause construction” on the multipurpose facility, new locker rooms at Max Copeland Gym, and the new baseball park during that October meeting.

The reason was because board members were told “the contractors’ price came in over budget” during a special meeting Oct. 16 but took no action then, according to a press release by the school district.

The individuals who addressed the board Oct. 16 were representatives of Pfluger Architects. During that meeting those representatives “accepted responsibility for the error and acknowledged that the architectural firm, not the (school) district, is responsible for the inaccurate estimate,” according to the press release.

On Nov. 18, Gasaway said the school district had made only partial payments to Pfluger Architects.

Payments from MFISD included the pre-bond planning with Pfluger as well as early billing on baseball, softball and the multi-purpose, but not near the $3 million amount,” he said. “It’s going to be somewhere roughly around $1 million.”

The superintendent noted that boards are more interested in an architect’s abilities first and foremost.

“Typically, … they don’t select an architect based on cost,” he said. “They select an architect based on qualifications, and then they authorize the superintendent on negotiating a contract of how much that is going to be. And so that will be what I’m going to be working with Huckabee on over the next several days.”

Now that Gasaway and his staff have the green light to pursue a contract with a new architect, which bond projects are included?

“It covers all the projects that have been under the prior architect, but it also has the ability to look at adding to the scope of that, and that the board would need to be agreeable to,” he said. “Whatever the contract is, the board’s going to need to feel comfortable, agreeable, and they’ll have final approval of that contract.”

The superintendent went back to the night of May 3, shortly after the Burnet County officials released the results of the election when asked about a construction calendar.

“My two top priorities were Highland Lakes Elementary (School) Drive and the baseball field,” he said. “Obviously, with the setback that we faced, getting the baseball field by Feb. 1 is not realistic at this point. That will not happen. And so we’re going to look at a different timeline. As we have discussions, we will be exploring ideas of opportunities for savings to do projects at the same moment where we can have economies of scale with construction equipment at both sites, construction trailers, those kinds of things that might give us an opportunity for cost savings. But trying to establish a timeline and to be able to share that with the community once we can really point to feeling confident that we’re going to be able to get all of these projects back on track – it will be important to share the new timeline that we hope to be able to deliver.”

Though the board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Dec. 15, Gasaway indicated Marble Falls ISD officials and board members are in lock step in wanting to get these projects moving.

“Should the opportunity arise to move forward a contract with Huckabee at a date earlier than the next regularly scheduled board meeting, which is Dec. 15, (they’d) be open to that,” he said. “(There’s) an effort to try to bring forward something before the next regular meeting is the goal that we’ll be striving for.”

Gasaway said he’s available to answer questions or hear concerns from residents via email at jg******@***sd.org.