The following text caught my attention and I wanted to respond accordingly: "If passed, the amendment would allow Eastern to forgo the traditional construction bidding process, and allow for quicker and flexible construction, while putting the university in control of construction costs."

It is great to see the university is looking at other construction mechanisms that will help them meet their goals more efficiently. Along with Design-Build (mainly used for new construction or large renovation projects), I would also suggest the university research the use of Job Order Contracting (JOC) as a means to expedite repair, renovation and rehabilitation projects. JOC is becoming more and more popular with universities as a way to obtain firm, fixed priced projects based on a unit price book and coefficient thus helping to reduce if not eliminate the dreadful change order philosophy prevalent in through normal Design-Bid-Build or hard bid solicitations.