By RAY QUIROGA
publisher@sbnewspaper.com
After an almost 11-month pause in the construction of two multimillion dollar facilities stemming from a controversial November 2018 $40M bond election, San Benito CISD officials issued a carefully worded statement on Tuesday informing the media, and the public, that the board of trustees voted to place the construction company tasked to complete those projects in default.
The vote came a week earlier, on January 25, 2024, during the tail end of the Board of Trustees’ meeting and after the trustees reconvened from executive session.
Construction ceased last March, when now former SBCISD Superintendent of Schools Theresa Servellon stopped construction when architect Mike Allex, of ROFA Architects out of McAllen, discovered that geopier rock columns where misaligned, which could cause the structures to be unsound.
The District’s two-page, 517-word statement outlines a timeline of events leading to the trustees’ decision to place Davila Construction in default, noting that on November 6, 2018, a majority of San Benito CISD voters (by a 54% margin) approved a $40 million bond proposal which enabled San Benito CISD to construct three state-of-the-art student facilities: A Performing Arts Center (PAC), an Natatorium/Aquatics Center (NAT), and an Indoor Multipurpose Athletic Center. The Indoor Multipurpose Athletic Center has been completed and is situated next to San Benito High School.
On November 7, 2019, Davila Construction, Inc. was hired as the Construction Manager at Risk for both the: The Performing Arts Center (PAC) $23.1 million, The Natatorium/Aquatics Center (NAT) $8.8 million.
The San Benito CISD Board of Trustees later amended the contract to include $1.8 million in site work for utilities and ground preparation.
As part of the contract, San Benito CISD was protected with surety bonds from Berkley Insurance which protected the District for the full contract price in the amounts of $21.3 million, $8.8 million, and $1.8 million, should Davila Construction default on the contract.
“During the construction phase of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) and the Natatorium/Aquatics Center (NAT), San Benito CISD’s architects and engineers noticed some discrepancies in the placement of the foundation and the supporting ground structure. Out of an abundance of caution, San Benito CISD immediately directed Davila Construction to stop construction until the discrepancies could be verified,” the District’s statement reads.
What followed were the months of weekly meetings with a team of architects, engineers, surveyors, attorneys, and construction personnel who attempted to verify and mediate the various discrepancies in the construction. After many meetings, the team has concluded that the remediation is not prudent or feasible based on the number and the extent of construction discrepancies, which have been verified with new testing and measurements, the statement continues.
“While the delay in the construction of these two student facilities has been unfortunate, the San Benito CISD Board of Trustees and Administration felt that it was absolutely necessary to ensure the safety and the integrity of these two important student facilities and to protect the bond funds dedicated to their construction,” the statement notes.
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Hello need info on Tony Davila of Davila Construction here in San Antonio. One of his projects here went off the rails and lawsuit file. Hard to find. Any contact info will ne appreciated Ph # or email address or office address
pecol@aol.com (I am an insurance investigator) Thanks
Instead of fixing the streets, revitalizing downtown, skid row (old bars & businesses) , maybe building a training center to get young folks in welding,electronics, mechanics, carpenters, etc.
How about a womens center, giving these young girls advice, counsel, and skills such accounting, paralegal, or anything else.
This is a WASTE of money and another example of “trying to look FANCY while living in a small town or chicken coop”.
Love San Benito, but this is JOKE!
NO TAXPAYER should have to pay for swimming pools and theaters. This is not the responsibility of the taxpayer.
SBCISD needs new buses and more staff with more incentives to stay with SBCISD Place some of that money to one of the best ways—for the students!!!!!!