Catholic Construction Services :: Facilities Planning & Construction

Archdiocesan Procedures: Parish and School Large Capital Improvement Projects

Initiation of Large Capital Improvements – Facilities Planning and Research

The Archdiocesan Facilities Planning and Research Department will collaborate with the parish pastors or school principals upon notification of a proposed Large Capital Improvement at a parish or school. Pastors and principals should refer to the “Facilities Planning and Large Capital Process” website for detailed information regarding the archdiocesan initiation process for these proposed projects.

If the initial investigation of the proposed large capital improvement proves to be viable with respect to area planning and an initial financial review, Facilities Planning and Research Department will introduce Catholic Construction Services, Inc. to commence the parish or school design and construction process.

Advancement of the Large Capital Improvements – Catholic Construction Services, Inc.

The following pages of this website address the Large Capital Improvement or the design and construction project delivery system provided by Catholic Construction Services, Inc. The delivery system described herein will again be defined in a Letter of Engagement written to the client, pastor or principal. Beyond the Letter of Engagement performance evaluations will be sent to pastors and principals at various stages of the project to receive feed-back on CCSI performance and to help improve or reinforce given procedures and/or performance.

Understanding the Large Capital Improvement Delivery Process

Foreword

This webpage is to aid pastors and principals in understanding the duties and responsibilities that Catholic Construction Services, Inc. (CCSI) will provide to archdiocesan parishes and schools that are undertaking Large Capital Improvements at their facilities (hereafter, Project). In addition, some definition of related services from others (Design Consultants, Contractors and Parish/School Building Committees) will be addressed to help provide a more complete explanation of the rolls and responsibilities that these entities must provide in their part of the overall team effort that is required for a successful Project. Moreover, the various team members’ work will occur at various phases in the development of the Project.

Key Individuals and Companies Involved in the Project

1.) The Owner of all Archdiocesan properties/facilities is “The Archbishop and/or His Successor in Office” (hereafter, Owner).

2.) The Owner’s Representative is Catholic Construction Services, Inc. (hereafter, CCSI). CCSI’s overall responsibility is to represent the Owner’s interests and perform the Owner’s duties as required by the design and construction agreements that are executed by the Owner.

3.) For the purposes of this document, the Client is a Parish, Mission or School of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The Parish in addition to the Pastor may have various staff and committee members involved including Department Heads and/or Ministry Leaders, volunteer members of a Steering Committee, Financial Committee, Building Committee, Capital Campaign Committee, Interior Design Committee and others. CCSI will work primarily with the Pastor and the Building Committee, collectively referred to in this document as the Building Committee (hereafter, BC).

4.) Design Consultants include any professional licensed consultant performing some portion of the Project design. Consultants may include but are not limited to: Architect, Liturgical Consultant, Civil Engineer, Structural Engineer, Plumbing Consultant, HV&AC Consultant, Electrical Consultant, Lighting Consultant, Acoustical Consultant, Landscape Architect and Interior Designer.

5.) Other Consultants not associated with the design of the facility include Project Feasibility and/or Focus Group Consultants and Capital Campaign Consultants.

Project Contractors and Vendors include any company engaged to perform physical work on the Project site and/or manufacture products to be incorporated into the Project. Contractors may include but are not limited to the General Contractor, all subcontractors and vendors working for the General Contractor and separate contractors working directly for the Parish. Separate contractors working directly for the Parish may include but are not limited to contractors providing the Landscaping, Sound System, Organ, Pews, Liturgical Art, Graphics, certain Fixtures, Furnishings and Equipment excluded from the General Contractors Agreement.

Six (VI) Phases of a Project Development Process

Project Concept and Defining the Scope of the Improvement (Define the facility improvement that is required to meet the staff/parishioner needs.)

Preliminary Design and Budget (The first phase of design will provide color renderings and a preliminary budget for preliminary approval by the Archdiocesan Finance Council.)

Capital Campaign (Determine parishioner financial support for the proposed capital improvement.)

Final Design, Budget and Archdiocesan Pastoral Approval of the Project (The final design, construction budget and all other ancillary costs are incorporated into the Financial Application for final approval by the Archdiocesan Finance Council.)

Construction Period (General construction work and all separate contractor work is performed to comply with the Construction Schedule and the Final Budget.)

One Year Warranty Period and Re- Inspection (All work performed by the Contractor is warranted for one year and just prior to that period expiring, the facility is re-inspected for any needed repairs other than normal ware and tear.)

The main thrust of this Website is to provide the Client with written understanding of the services that CCSI will provide throughout the Six Phases of the Development Process. In defining CCSI work, it is essential to understand the services and responsibilities of the other team members and how the work of various team members interact and when they occur throughout the various phases of the Project.

It can not be over stated that the success of the Project is directly related to the performance of each team member at the time their service is required.
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Although we are defining a structured process in this Website, every Project has differing conditions requiring flexibility by team members in their performance and timing.

Prior to archdiocesan involvement in a Project, the pastor, parish staff and various combinations of parish council members will have reached a conclusion that a large capital improvement of some type is needed to meet the needs of the parish. At this point, the pastor should contact the Archbishop and request Preliminary Pastoral Approval to explore the feasibility of the project.
The Archbishop will refer the pastor to the Facilities Planning and Research Department and their website (see that Website). This website will explain that certain preliminary criteria have to be met prior to a full commitment to proceed with the Project.

(Refer to the Facilities Planning and Research Website Information)

Included in the preliminary criteria is some combination of:

Communication with Archdiocesan Research & Planning Department

2.) Recognition and commentary from the parish’s deanery and other adjacent parishes that may not belong to the same deanery

3.) Preliminary discussion with archdiocesan staff on conceptual budget, capital campaign expectations and finance

CCSI may be involved in this preliminary work with Facilities Planning and Research described above if called upon for preliminary budget work.

Pastors and parish members are embarking on a complicated time consuming venture when undertaking the work associated with a large capital improvement. The Archdiocese and CCSI goal is to provide the leadership and consulting service to protect the Archdiocese and Parish interests and guide the parish and team members through all the phases required to bring a Project to fruition within budget, on time and with a minimum of construction related issues.

End of Foreword

CCSI Services in Project Phases & the Role of Other Team Members

There will be a transition as Facilities Planning and Research (hereafter FP&R) completes preliminary work with the parish and as the Project becomes better defined CCSI will become more active as FP&R turns the Project over to CCSI.

An initial meeting will be scheduled at the parish with the parish pastor, staff and parishioner volunteers. This group and CCSI staff will ask an answer questions that define the project delivery process and better define the roles of various team members.

I.) Project Concept and Defining the Scope of the Improvement

CCSI will conduct an initial meeting and attend subsequent meetings with the purpose of assisting with organizing team members (see list of team members in foreword) with collectively assigning areas of responsibility and defining procedures to advance the design in compliance with Archdiocesan Guidelines.

CCSI will review and critique the preliminary Project Concept:

a.) The importance of a master plan will be stressed to plan beyond the current Project to a fully mature parish facility. This is essential to prevent impeding future development with the current Project design.
b.) Operational functionality of the preliminary design
c.) Construction efficiency of the preliminary design
d.) Completeness and accuracy of the preliminary budget

Architect/Engineering Fees Cost
Other consultants
CCSI Service Fee
Permits & Impact Fees
Geotechnical & Other Testing
Fixtures, Furnishings & Equipment Costs
Owner Furnished Systems Costs
Moving, Phasing & Temporary Costs
Hard Construction – Contractors Cost
Contingency Cost approx. 7.5% - 10 %

CCSI will provide a preliminary schedule from the start of design through the capital campaign and the construction of the Project. This schedule may be revised from time to time and will be superseded by the contractor’s construction schedule.

If a feasibility study has not been done and is considered necessary by the parish, CCSI can provide names and references for companies that have worked for other parishes in the Archdiocese. CCSI does not provide a Request for Proposal (hereafter RFP) for feasibility study firms.

II.) Preliminary Design and Budget

One of the first team members to be hired is the architect. If the BC has a list of at least three (3) architects they wish to solicit proposals from, that will be sufficient. If the BC needs help in listing possible architects, CCSI can provide architectural firms and references with other parishes that used these firms.
If the BC is having trouble qualifying and listing 3 – 4 architectural firms, CCSI can issue an established Request For Qualifications (hereafter, RFQ) to a long list of several firms to aid the BC in their selection of a short list of 3 – 4 firms.
CCSI will issue an established Request for Proposal (RFP) to the short list of architectural firms.
CCSI will receive the RFP responses from these candidates and place all the pertinent data on a spread sheet for ease of reference. The RFP responses and the spread sheet will go to the BC for their evaluation.
CCSI will arrange to have all or some of the architectural candidates make oral presentations to the BC for the purpose of helping the parish select the architect for the Project. Warning – If this Architect or other deign consultants fail to perform there may be legal costs associated with enforcing the Contract terms. These costs are at the parish’s expense.
CCSI will place the Architect under contract. The contract has been customized over the years to protect the interests of the archdiocese and the parish. It is not the standard AIA Agreement prepared by the American Institute of Architects, which primarily protects the architect. The architectural agreement is a two (2) part agreement.

Part I – Includes a study of the parish needs, suggested solutions, preliminary design, color renderings of the exterior elevation, site plan, building floor plan and data required for zoning (if necessary). These plans can be incorporated into the fund raising visuals used in the parish capital campaign literature.
Part II – The second part of the architectural agreement anticipates a successful capital campaign. (If the capital campaign is not successful, the parish has no further financial obligation with the architect.) Architectural work to be performed includes finalization of the design development plans, working with a selected contractor to confirm budget accuracy, (if necessary) revise the plans to meet budget restrictions, complete the construction documents, provide construction administration during the construction phase and preparing a punch list at Substantial Completion of the Project.

Other consultants that may be needed include a land surveyor, geotechnical company and civil engineer. CCSI has a stable of these consultants that can be called upon and CCSI will take proposals, evaluate them and make recommendations prior to placing them under contract.

In the event that re-zoning or a special land use permit is required for the proposed Project, CCSI will meet with County Representative and attend County hearings. CCSI will assist in the selection and draft agreements with other consultants including zoning attorneys, traffic engineers, lighting consultants, acoustical engineers, etc.

CCSI will prepare the total projected development budget to be used by the parish in submitting the Initial Financial Application for approval by the Archdiocese. This must be approved prior to the start of a capital campaign.

CCSI will facilitate the parish presentation to the Archbishop of the preliminary design with the color renderings for Pastoral Approval by the Archbishop. This must be approved prior to the start of the capital campaign.

Capital Campaign

CCSI will work with the parish and architect to initiate the capital campaign at one of the two times per year that is recommended for best results.
CCSI recommends parishes interview capital campaign companies for the purpose of learning as much as possible about the process and to determine if they want to employ one of these firms.
CCSI can provide names of capital campaign companies that have worked for other parishes in the archdiocese and reference names.
CCSI at the option of the parish can prepare and send out RFPs to these firms and present the results to the parish for their selection.
CCSI can at the option of the parish assist with parish presentations of the fund raising visuals to parishioners during the capital campaign.
The completion of the capital campaign is a major check point with respect accessing parishioner financial support and the financial viability of the Project. The results of the capital campaign may suggest a shift in Project goals and/or design.

Final Design, Budget and Archdiocesan Pastoral Approval of the Project

Depending upon the level of success of the capital campaign, the Project design may remain unchanged, reduce in scope, be enhanced in scope or abandoned.
If the Project moves forward, the next major step is the selection of a Project Contractor.
If the BC has a list of at least three (3) contractors they wish to solicit proposals from, that will be sufficient. Note: The contractor must be capable of acquiring a Payment & Performance Bond to qualify as the Project Contractor. If the BC needs help in long listing possible contractors, CCSI can provide a list of construction firms and with references from other parishes that used these firms.
CCSI will issue an established customized Request for Proposal (RFP) to the short list of construction firms. This RFP will include a complete breakdown of the construction costs for the Project prepared by CCSI for this particular Project. The three or four contractor responses to the RFP will provide the BC with a “free look” from independent sources of what the hard construction budget should be in the current “market place” and provide a check on the preliminary hard construction budget provided by CCSI.

CCSI will receive the RFP responses from these candidates and place all the pertinent data on a spread sheet for ease of reference. The RFP responses and the spread sheet will go to the BC for their evaluation.
CCSI will arrange to have all or some of the construction firm candidates make oral presentations to the parish BC for the purpose of helping the BC select the Contractor for the Project. Warning – If this Contractor or other separate contractors fail to perform there may be legal costs associated with enforcing the Contract terms. These costs are at the parish’s expense.
Upon selection of the Contractor by the Parish, the Owner and the Contractor will execute a Letter Of Intent (hereafter, LOI). The Contractor will work within the terms of the LOI through the remaining design phase providing the construction cost data until the design is completed and within budget. It is important to remember that the competing contractor candidates are competing on the basis of incomplete plans. However certain portions of the proposals will be fixed.

The LOI will specify the Contractor’s goals necessary for the Contractor to be awarded the Construction Contract:

The Target Budget (Total Hard Construction Price) – This is not a fixed number at this point in the design process.
The Contractor’s General Conditions Cost – This is a fixed number.
The Contractor’s Fee – This is a fixed number.
The Construction Schedule – This is fixed.
The Contractor Staff pledged to the Project is fixed.
The pre-construction services of the Contractor are described in detail.

If the Contractor fails to achieve a GMP that meets the budget goal and the rest of the Team is of the opinion that the Contractor’s pricing is above the market place, the Owner has the right to competitively bid the work to other contractors.
Upon selection of the Contractor, the Project Team (hereafter, Team) will now consist of the BC, Architect, Contractor and CCSI).

Upon selection of the Contractor, CCSI will continue to lead the Team through the completion of the design and finalization of the total Project budget.
If the Project is over budget, CCSI will work with the Team to adjust the design and get the Project within the budget (Value Engineering Work). Alternatively, the BC can request the Archdiocese Finance Department to increase the budget.
CCSI will certify the total construction cost including a required construction contingency to be used in the parish Financial Application that must be submitted to the Archdiocesan Projects Review Committee, a subcommittee of the Archdiocesan Finance Council. This committee will recommend approval or disapproval of the Project to the Archbishop for his final approval or disapproval.

Construction Period

CCSI will finalize negotiations and all the terms of the Construction Agreement with the Contractor including the Guaranteed Maximum Price (hereafter GMP), and the Construction Schedule.
CCSI will monitor the Architect or the Contractor file for the Land Disturbance Permit and the Building Permit.
CCSI will conduct an extensive Pre-Construction Meeting with the Architect and Contractor that will outline all procedures all Team members are to follow throughout the construction process.
CCSI will conduct Owner/Architect/Contractor Meetings at the job site on a given day every two weeks and distribute minutes for this meeting to all team members. This meeting will be a full Project audit with the following subjects (Items 1 through 13) addressed and updated at each meeting and the following with an explanation of each agenda category.

Pre-Construction Orientation With New Subcontractors Scheduled To Start Work – CCSI will take time at the Bi-Weekly meeting to meet the subcontractor foremen that are scheduled to start work on the site and discuss their work and what is expected from this Owner. This effort is for the purpose of avoiding typical problems previously experienced with the type of work a given subcontractor provides.

Contractor’s Daily Reports Received - CCSI requires the Contractor to provide a copy of the Contractors superintendent daily reports. This is the Contractor’s account of what has taken place on site on a day daily basis and we check this report for anything that may be detrimental to the interests of the Owner and Parish.
Contractor’s Weekly Safety Meeting Minutes Received – CCSI makes sure the Contractor is conducting safety meetings, but takes no responsibility for the contents or the safety program.

As-Built Drawings Checked and Up-To-Date – CCSI attempts to get all underground utility lines located on the As-Built Plans for the parish record.

Status of Quality Assurance Problems – CCSI staff reviews the Contractors work once per week. All quality assurance issues that CCSI observe are noted in this category of the job meeting minutes and remain in place until the work is corrected. This LOE is not meant to imply that CCSI will catch all Contractor mistakes or be responsible for Contractor mistakes. However, CCSI will on the parish’s behalf, pursue the correction of construction mistakes for as long as is reasonable to get mistakes corrected. This applies to design errors also. This LOE is not meant to imply that CCSI will catch all consultant design errors or be responsible for consultant design errors. However, CCSI will on the parish’s behalf, pursue the correction of consultant design errors for as long as is reasonable to get errors corrected.

Submittal Log Received and Items Listed with Responsibility Established – CCSI will confirm with the Architect and Contractor that the Contractor’s shop drawings are being submitted on time and the Architect is processing them on time to keep progress with the construction schedule.

Change Order Log Reviewed and Current Status Reconciled With Owner/Architect/Contractor Records – CCSI will as a part of tracking Project costs reconcile change order proposals, approved change orders and the projected final Project Cost on a bi-weekly basis.

Status of Contractor “Request for Information”, (RFI) Log – CCSI will endeavor to provide the Contractor with timely answers to questions that require the input of other Team members. This is essential to keeping the Project on schedule. All questions and responses will be logged for the record by the Contractor and monitored by CCSI.

Two Week Look-Ahead Schedule Reviewed and Attached to Minutes – CCSI will require the Contractor to provide a list of work items that will start, complete or continue through the next two (2) weeks for the benefit/ knowledge of all Team members.

Project Progress Compared to Contract Construction Schedule – CCSI will compare the current Project progress to the current construction schedule to track the planned completion date. The current construction schedule will reflect the original construction schedule plus all approved extensions of time.

Is There Any Current Adverse Impact on the contractor’s Progress Due to Owner Nonperformance? – CCSI asks this question at every jobsite meeting to be sure and record that the Contractor is not experiencing any adverse impacts related to the Owner or the Architect. The Owner is responsible to the Contractor for any nonperformance of the Architect. If there is an adverse impact, it must be remedied as soon as possible and not allowed to delay the Project.

Coordination with Utilities and Municipalities – CCSI will track the progress and deadline for installing utilities on site. This will involve some municipal and utility company requirements as well as action by the Architect and Contractor.

Miscellaneous

Monthly progress payments will be reviewed for accuracy and processed. This includes checking all Contractor line item costs on a monthly basis and making sure there is sufficient money left to finish the Project. Receiving all waivers of lien to help assure the Contractor paid all subcontractors and vendors that were due money from last months payment. The Parish will make payment to the Contractor only after the Contractor’s Requisition is approved by CCSI.

In addition to the Architect and Contractor work and payments, CCSI will check completed work and process all design consultant and separate contractor payments.

This category is to catch any other concerns that any team member may want to address. CCSI will track the concern and the remedy.

CCSI will review any other purchase orders or separate contracts that the Parish may issue and advise the Parish on the terms of these agreements.

When the Project reaches Substantial Completion (Architect issues a certificate of Substantial Completion, Contractor obtains a Certificate of Occupancy and the Owner has beneficial use of the premises) the parish will be able to occupy and use the facility as intended. However, the Project will not be completely finished and the Contractor may still have numerous items to correct or complete.
The Architect’s Certificate of Substantial Completion will have a list (Punch List) attached to it with all uncompleted items and all items that need correction or repair. This list should be prepared jointly by a parish representative, the Architect and CCSI.
CCSI and a parish representative should collaborate and monitor that all items are finished satisfactorily or are not satisfactory. CCSI will continue to monitor this work and release money as the work is completed.
The Contractor will submit all required close-out-documents to the Architect and CCSI for turn over to the parish. These will include warranties on equipment, operating instructions and a list of all subcontractor and vendor telephone numbers.
CCSI will schedule parish representatives and various subcontractors for demonstration of operating all equipment in the facility. The parish may want to video tape these lessons for future review of these instructions.
Upon completion of the Punch List, CCSI will receive all final waivers of lien from the Contractor, all subcontractors and all vendors over $10,000 in value.
CCSI will procure verification from the payment and performance insurance company that they approve final payment to the Contractor.

One Year Warranty Period and Re- Inspection
The warranty periods begins on the date of Substantial Completion and runs through the period specified for the particular warranty.
The parish will have telephone numbers of the Contractor, all subcontractors, separate contractors and vendors that performed work on the Project.
All work performed by the Contractor is warranted for one year from substantial completion, other work and equipment will be warranted for varying periods of time.
When something malfunctions it will be the parish’s responsibility to notify the Contractor and/or the subcontractor in writing that a problem has occurred. This provides a record of the date the problem occurred and that the Contractor and subcontractor were notified. The Contractor or subcontractor should respond to the parish and make the repair. If they do not respond, CCSI should be notified and CCSI will get involved and stay involved until the problem is solved.
Two weeks before the one year warranty period for the entire Project expires, CCSI and a parish representative need to check the Project for any items that need repair. This excludes normal ware and tear. CCSI will forward the list to the Contractor for repairs to be made under the terms of the warranty.

Fee Structure

CCSI provides the above services for a Fee of Two and One Half Percent (2.5%) of all design and construction costs. The total projected fee for the Project has been included in the Project Financial Application, but may be adjusted as Project cost changes.

Billing of the fee occurs at three points in the Construction Period.

Fifty Percent (50%) of the fee is billed at the time the Project Land Disturbance Permit is approved by the County.
Twenty Five Percent (25%) of the fee is billed at the time the Contractor reaches Fifty Percent (50%) completion of the Project.
Twenty Five Percent (25%) of the fee is billed at Substantial Completion of the Project.

If the Project is never permitted, there is no charge for CCSI services for Phase I, II, III and IV listed above.
There is no additional charge for follow up on Project problems during or after the warranty period expires.