Just before Christmas, proposals to bid on the design and construction of a new Gibbs Middle and Hardin Valley Middle Schools. According to sources close to the evaluation process, the proposals varied from 8-85 plus pages. The firms spend a considerable amount of financial resources (money) to submit a proposal. But the Knox County insiders don’t recognize the time and money that goes into the proposals, because they are all bureaucrats, unfamiliar with the private sector.
So, my source indicates that Knox Co has met with a couple of short listed firms with no word to the non short listed. If anyone believes that a team of evaluators properly processed that much information over the Christmas holidays is inconceivable. Another source indicates interviews were held with Rentenbach and Rouse which is an indication Knox Co is not interested in a true design build process cause those firms do the large majority of their work under the old design-bid-build process. So Burchett makes it look like the county is going to do something progressive and then discounts companies with design-build expertise in favor of the same old companies and uses the RFP process to select who he wants as the builder(s). What’s the definition of insanity? Same thing, same way and expect a different result? Once again Knox County students will get the short end of the ruler.
What a slap in the face to businesses who pay taxes and employ Knox County citizens too!
More on the architectural partners and their past connections and work history in Knox Co, stay posted.
