Search begins for company to investigate flooding at Peak Innovation Center

The Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education is looking for a company to investigate the causes of and remedies for flooding at the FSPS Peak Innovation Center. The search calls for a company to complete the investigation within 90 days.

School Board President Dalton Person met with Craig Tecmire, FSPS supervisor of purchasing, on a request for qualification (RFQ) concerning the investigation June 24. The RFQ calls for an investigation into drainage failures at Peak Innovation Center and states that the school board is seeking a third-party review of the current drainage system and recent drainage failures at the center.

It states that FSPS has invested more than $20.363 million, including millage funds, public and private grants, and other sources of funding, in Peak, “a place where career and college-bound students develop real-world skills and earn industry-specific certifications to create a future workforce that will drive success across industry and beyond.”

Peak, a unique regional workforce education center built on a site donated to FSPS, has flooded three times since it opened March 28, 2022. On June 7, 2022,  an historic rain event caused significant ponding in the east parking lot, which eventually led to significant water intrusion into the main level of the building, the RFQ states. A severe thunderstorm on March 23  caused water and mud intrusion under the expansion joint between slab and footing wall in office spaces. On May 28, a “common thunderstorm” caused water intrusion under the same expansion joint as the March 23 event, it states.

“(The FSPS school board) is seeking an investigation into the multiple drainage failures and the current drainage systems at Peak Innovation Center. The School Board recognizes that to properly investigate our drainage failures at Peak, the entire building process will likely need to be evaluated and welcomes this,” the RFQ states.

The board voted June 21 that whoever is selected by the board to investigate the center will report to and operate under the direction of the school board.

The RFQ states that whoever is selected “spend some time on-site in Fort Smith and conduct interviews of parties that were involved in the Peak construction process,” another provision agreed upon by the board during the Wednesday meeting that was specially called to address an investigation at Peak.

The subject of an independent investigation into the flooding issues was broached after two companies involved with the construction of the center – Fort Smith-based Turn Key Construction, which was the construction manager at risk for the Peak Innovation Center project, and Halff Associates (formerly Morrison-Shipley Engineers, Inc.), engineers for the project – wrote letters to the school board raising concerns about the building and water issues.

Though the RFQ states that the school board recognizes the investigation could be a lengthy process, it also states that the board asks initially that it not take more than three months to complete after official notification to begin work. The RFQ states that the school board expects a final deliverable written and oral report to the board that identifies inefficiencies and detailed failures within Peak’s building and planning process. They also want the report to include a comprehensive understanding of parties at fault in the recent drainage failures and recommended improvements for the district to incorporate in the future.

“In my opinion, the purpose of the Request for Qualifications is two fold: first, to get an unbiased opinion of what went wrong and who is responsible so the school board can take appropriate action,” Person said. “The second goal is for the district to improve its processes and operations moving forward.”

The RFQ was posted on the district’s website and went live Friday on Bonfire, a national site for RFQs. It also will be published in the local newspaper’s legal classifieds section for four consecutive weeks. The RFQ will remain open until July 28. After July 28, the school board will review submitted materials and discuss next steps.

“The board may invite selected parties to participate in a conversation with us, ideally within a few weeks of the application deadline,” Person said.

He said he has full faith in FSPS district administration and continues to believe they should be evaluated primarily upon the education provided to the district’s students.

“That being said, completing this review process is important to me. The district and its state, federal, and private business partners have expended more than $20 million on this facility. Not only do we need to protect the integrity of this innovative and coveted model, but this should be viewed as a learning opportunity for us,” Person said.