Construction Team

Who is monitoring the project?
There are numerous checks and balances to ensure the Akron CLCs' project remains efficient and cost-effective. The Ohio School Facilities Commission has stringent guidelines in place to govern how its funds can be used. At the local level, Akron Public Schools, in collaboration with the mayor and the city council, will monitor the project. A 10-member Joint Board of Review, comprised of five members each from Akron Public Schools and from the city, meets regularly. Akron Public Schools maintains the ultimate responsibility for final decisions; but, if agreements cannot be reached, arbitration will be sought. Other oversight committees include a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Workforce Development Advisory Committee, a 10-member Citizens Monitoring Committee and a CLC Advisory Board.

Who is designing and building the schools?
The Akron Architectural Group (AAG), a consortium of five Akron architectural firms and a nationally recognized minority firm, was selected to design the Segment 1 and 2 projects. In Segment 3, GPD, a local, full-service architectural/engineering firm, was selected to be the lead firm in the building project. GPD will use the resources of several local architectural and engineering firms to support them for this segment. Both AAG and GPD were selected jointly by Akron Public Schools, the City of Akron and the Ohio School Facilities Commission from numerous applicants to design our state-of-the-art community learning centers.

Firms that have been or are currently participating in the project include Braun & Steidl Architects Inc., GPD Group, Hasenstab Architects, Moody Nolan Inc., TC Architects, Robert P. Madison International and URS.

AAG and GPD architects work with Akron Public Schools facility planners, each assigned to a construction site. The APS planning staff includes John George, Fred Herr, Gary Reyna, Gerald Taylor and Kris Balchak.

Construction Management Team
The Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) adopted a project-delivery system using construction managers to coordinate design and construction. The construction management team of Ruhlin / Panzica / Jenkins currently provides construction management services for the project.

The RPJ Construction Managers' Joint Venture team includes:

• Ruhlin Company
• Panzica Construction Company
• Bernie Jenkins Inc.

The role of the construction manager is to plan, coordinate and manage all phases of the construction process but not actually perform the construction work. The construction manager establishes a central office in Akron and sets up individual site offices at the schools to coordinate daily construction activities. Akron Public Schools solicits bids for each facility through the public bid process from area contractors.