LAWTON – The Comanche County Board of Commissioners has decided that it will no t require the Comanche County Fairgrounds Authority to hire a construction manager at risk to oversee upgrades of water and sewer lines at the fairgrounds.
The commission voted 3-0 July 28 to take no action on the issue, leaving the decision on whether to use a construction manager at risk up to the fair board.
“We don’t get involved,” said Commission Chairman Josh Powers. “They have their own board that made their own decision, and if that decision’s wrong, then that board will be accountable for it.”
A construction manager at risk, also known as a CMAR, is responsible for overseeing a project from the design phase through construction. The CMAR must commit to completing the project within a guaranteed maximum price, which is provided to the owner before the bidding stage. Water, sewer upgrades In November 2024, the commission approved a $1.2 million grant from the county’s pot of American Rescue Plan Act dollars to the Fairgrounds Authority to pay for upgrading the fairgrounds’ water and sewer lines.
The authority has already decided that it doesn’t want to use a CMAR for the project, said fairgrounds director Richard Pool.
“We’re not building anything,” Pool said. “We’re just completely redoing the existing lines, so we felt like the $110,000 – which we personally don’t have, and I don’t believe that you have it – to pay for a CMAR is something that’s not needed.”
Pool said the authority will hire the engineer who drew up the plans for the project to oversee it, and that engineer will sign off on any payments that must be made.
Powers asked County Clerk Carrie Tubbs if the commission was required to vote on the matter.
“Is this a legal issue with our board?” Powers asked.
Tubbs said she brought the matter to the commission’s attention because the county will seek competitive bids for the project, but she needed guidance on whether the authority was required to use a CMAR. She said officials consulted the law firm Floyd and Driver, which is advising the county on ARPA-related issues, as well as District Attorney Kyle Cabelka, on the subject.
Tubbs said Floyd and Driver had said hiring a CMAR for the project would be prudent, and Cabelka said he recommended using one. However, she said, the county was not legally required to take that step.
Powers said he did not think the commission should make that decision on the authority’s behalf.
“This isn’t an issue that requires our opinion, honestly,” he said. “We don’t normally get in the habit of overriding their board’s votes on anything else, so I don’t know why we would make it today.”
Tubbs said the commission will have to review bids for the project, consider the authority’s recommendation and approve the contract.
“You do still have some involvement because it’s ARPA,” she said. “I’m fine with whatever you all choose. I just want to make sure that we are following the process you want us to follow.”