The JACB board heard project development updates at its meeting and agreed to extend internal review of a draft project labor agreement feasibility study, with staff saying they will meet with engineering consultant Tim Sailor before returning a tailored study to the board, likely in December.

Secretary Joe said, "we had thought we might have something for today, we've decided it warrants a more in-depth review," and added that the delay "will not adversely affect our schedule" and is intended to produce a study tailored to the project.

Why it matters: the PLA study informs labor, schedule and procurement planning for upcoming construction phases. The board also learned that the comprehensive plan has been submitted to state reviewers and that receipt of state approval will affect the timing of design work and architect engagement.

The program manager reported the comprehensive plan was submitted to the State Education Department (SED) and to the State Comptroller's office and said SED "plan[s] on having comments back to us before Thanksgiving." The program manager also said the State Comptroller's office had not yet provided comments but that the submission is under review.

On design procurement, the board received five architect proposals for Phase 3 (referred to in materials as Phase A/Phase projects). The program manager said the RFP committee will meet to screen proposals and plans to schedule interviews in November or December before moving to award. He added that the committee had good participation and intends to work through selection steps promptly.

A board member asked how many firms attended the pre-proposal meeting. The program manager said about 10 firms attended, though some attended to seek partnering arrangements; "the 5 that submitted, there could be combined," he said.

The program manager also noted a constraint: state approval of the comprehensive plan is required before signing architects and beginning design. The manager described the comprehensive-plan review as the key near-term approval needed to proceed with procurement and design activities.

Details and next steps: staff will continue internal review of the PLA with the program manager and meet with consulting engineer Tim Sailor. The RFP committee will screen architect proposals and schedule interviews; award decisions are expected after interviews in late fall or early winter. SED comments on the comprehensive plan are expected before Thanksgiving, per staff comment.

Provenance: The board's PLA review discussion began when Secretary Joe reported on the staff review and recommendation for additional analysis and was last discussed during the program manager's description of timelines and constraints related to the comprehensive plan and architect selection.