Owner's rep selected for Kalispell school projects
Erick Enz, president of Axiom Builders Group based in Kalispell, has been selected as the owner’s representative to manage Kalispell Public Schools’ elementary and high school construction projects totaling $54 million, but not without reservations by some trustees.
Kalispell Public Schools Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted 6-3 to hire Axiom.
“After interviews and reference checks Erick was our leading candidate, so we invited him here tonight to provide a brief introduction to himself,” Kalispell Superintendent Mark Flatau said prior to the vote.
The school district had interviewed four individuals for the position. The owner’s representative acts in the best interest of the school district and as a liaison between architects, engineers and contractors to ensure projects are completed in a timely manner and within the district’s budget.
Enz formed Axiom Builders Group in 2016 as a “general contracting firm specializing in commercial construction,” in addition to working on light-industrial” and custom and high-end residential construction projects. Enz, a veteran of the first Gulf War, began working in construction as a project manager in 2005 following his military service in the U.S. Marines. Axiom Builders also currently is serving as an owner’s representative for Smith Valley School, which is also in the midst of facility planning. The most recent project Enz worked on was the Cedar Creek Lodge in Columbia Falls.
The next step is to write up a contract. Enz proposed a fee of $70 per hour.
“I look forward to representing you,” Enz said. “It’s a great responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” he said, later adding “I have the experience to do it. I have the dedication and passion to accomplish this task.”
Before trustees voted on the motion to hire Axiom, they had several questions about Enz’s experience in construction, the ability to handle the scope of work and his personal life.
One of trustees’ concerns was that although Enz has his office in Kalispell, he is building a home in Libby and living temporarily in Kalispell, according to Enz, for the next eight to 10 months. Enz said it wouldn’t be a problem.
“I don’t see it as a problem at all. I knew when I decided to build my house there that doing business here, I would need to be here,” Enz said. He later added, “There’s a lot to do and it’s going to require dedication and time, which I am going to commit to.”
Trustee Lance Isaak asked Enz how he was going to “get his arms around” the variety of projects that encompass most of the school district’s facilities.
Enz said he already has been working on putting a plan together “to hit the ground running” and assessing what the district has accomplished so far. Enz said he will assemble “key players” in a project team, determine a master schedule and identify project target dates and phases, and review the budget.
“First thing is meeting the people who are a part of the team I need to work with,” Enz said.
School Board Chairman Joe Brenneman had a few concerns about a couple of incidents that occurred in Enz’s past and said he raised these issues based on a past experience on a different board. One of these concerns was Enz’s commitment to complete the scope of work based on an online search that revealed during Enz’s military service, he refused to get an anthrax vaccination on religious grounds and potential adverse reactions, a decision which resulted in various penalties.
Enz offered to go into the details surrounding the incident, but Brenneman said that wasn’t necessary.
“The only reason that’s relevant to me as someone who is hiring somebody — is [if] there [is] something that’s going to come up that’s going to make you think and say ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ for whatever reason,” Brenneman said.
“If you hire me to do this I am committed to following through this project,” Enz said.
Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.