Dean Construction is the company that is going to bring the Aubrey Sports Complex to life.
That decision was made that the July 23 Aubrey City Council meeting, where the company's vice president and project manager, Tyler Firebaugh, explained the company's passion for parks.
'There's a whole bunch of people that you could have chosen for this, and we're honored to be the ones standing up here behind this mic,' he said to the mayor and council. '... Who are we? We are Dean Construction. We build parks. That's the only thing that we do. That's what we focus on over the past 40 years.'
The company will serve as the construction manager at risk, which means the company will work to handle the subcontractors for the project.
'We take pride in our workmanship, our ability to meet ADA standards, which is pretty unique to parks,' Firebaugh said. 'There's a lot of trails and plazas and complexes that the typical CMAR doesn't deal with on a daily basis, but we do that by working closely with city staff and architects to leave your job on time, in budget and keeping your original vision in mind.'
He also mentioned some of the 444 parks the company has created.
'We're just excited to get the opportunity to work with you guys,' Firebaugh said.
City Manager Charles Kreidler spoke of the 'family environment with' the Dean Construction team, as well as of the quality of the parks the city staff toured.
'We really connected with them during these site visits,' he said.
He also pointed out that Dean Construction only takes on at most five projects per year 'so that they give us a personal touch.'
Dean Director of Operations for Construction Kirsten George spoke about the CMAR model.
'It's a two-part contract,' she said. 'The first part of the contract is going to get you into the preconstruction service phase of things. This is where we're going to step in with Westwood ... and start doing some page turns on the plans. We're going to build out a 60% budget.'
At that point, she said, the council will give input.
'The point of that first budget is to get the numbers in front of you so that you can see where you are in design versus the money that you actually have to spend on your complex,' she said.
Then one of two things could happen: value engineering to bring the price down or moving forward with the plans to the 90% mark.
'Once we reach 100% bidding plans, not to say that there wouldn't be some changes after, but ... we have a trusted kind of trade network of about 18,000 subcontractors that we're going to get your plans in front of,' George said.
The hope is to encourage competing bids.
Dean would continue working through the details and help manage the construction phase as well, she said.
'Having done one of these before, I know it is nice to have the contractor involved in the end of design,' Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Fikes said. 'You can value engineer a bunch of stuff and hopefully save us a few dollars in the process, but we also get a better property because we have the contractor involved as we finish the design.'
Early in the meeting, Aubrey Police Chief Richard Brooks introduced municipal court bailiff Sergio Hernandez.
'Sergio retired from the New York City Police Department after 20 years of distinguished service, concluding his career as a detective. During his tenure, he served on duty during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack and received numerous commendations and recognition for his dedication and exemplary service.'
Hernandez was pinned by his wife and their two children after being sworn in by Mayor Chris Rich.
'Maria is also a retired NYPD lieutenant,' Brooks said.
Also in the meeting, the City Council received its annual evaluation of the Public Improvement Districts throughout the city, most of which had a decrease in the assessment levied for the year.
The council also approved an update to the engineering standards in the subdivision ordinance.
The council also authorized the city staff to apply for a 100%, no-match grant for $10,000 to the Texas Water Development Board based on House Bill 500.
'That's great,' Rich said. 'I think we should apply for all of the grants.'
After executive session, the council approved a residential agreement for the Bridleridge Development which is about 166 acres; approved the conditional approval and acceptance of the public infrastructure for the Aubrey Heights development; and approved a settlement agreement in the eminent domain case City of Aubrey, Texas v. Jerry H. Simmons, et al.
