When bids were opened for the Kingfisher cheer and softball facility in April 2019, everyone involved was shocked by the sticker price…in a good way.

The shock returned on June 1 when bids were unsealed for additions to the high school campus’ agriculture barn.

This time, however, it wasn’t a pleasant surprise.

The board of education last Monday rejected the bids for the project with the intention of sending out another notice for bids down the road.

“I think we were all surprised at the cost of this,” said Jeff Wegener, a principal with LWPB Architecture, which designed the project plans.

The board earlier voted to move forward with a 40-feet by 70-feet addition to the current ag barn as well as a separate 28- feet by 30-feet goat barn.

All told, the two new structures would total 3,640 square feet.

The lowest of three bids received was $417,400 by Lambert Construction of Stillwater to complete both structures.

Other bids were $510,600 by Jenco Construction and $585,000 from W.L. McNatt & Company.

The lowest bid was just below $115 per square foot. The cheer and softball facility - a more complex structure - saw bids come in for nearly $700,000 under projected costs was built at around $108 per square foot.

“This project came in way above that, which is ridiculous,” Wegener told the board.

While LWPB didn’t provide cost projections, Wegener did tell board members Monday that, prior to the bid opening, $70 to $80 per square foot was realistic.

That makes even the lowest bid 44-64% above those projections.

While only three bids were submitted for this project, nine came in for the cheer and softball facility. Then-Superintendent Jason Sternberger said that was the most he’d seen for a project.

It was also a competitive process when bids were opened for the first phases of construction of the seventh and eighth grade center, which is still ongoing.

“Unemployment is high. Oil prices are down,” Van Storm, a partner with Joe D. Hall General Contractors, said to the school board in late April 2020. “There are more people willing to basically work for wages right now.”

That trend didn’t continue.

“You’re having to beg people to do jobs,” Wegener said. “They’re (construction firms) not as hungry right now and low on their list is something small like this.”

Wegener recommended a couple of options, including rejecting the bids and re-bid the project in six to nine months.

“My gut feeling is things will settle down,” Wegener said.

Kingfisher Superintendent Dr. Daniel Craig said he spoke with Kingfisher FFA Co-Advisers Megan Thormodsgard and Tyler Gradert.

“While they’d like to have it sooner, they said whatever the board wants to do,” Craig said to the board.

“You’re in a good position because you don’t have to have this right now,” added Wegener. “I wish I had a crystal ball, but that (reject bids) is what I would do.”