On Sept. 26, the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association hosted a project briefing at the Edgewater hotel in Madison for donors to the project. Prior to the briefing, donors had the opportunity to see the recently constructed milk intake area and work being done on the Center for Dairy Research addition.

Speakers included Chris Patton, deputy secretary at the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), and Laurent Heller, vice chancellor for finance and administration at UW–Madison, who provided details about construction and the recently commissioned third-party review. Kate VandenBosch, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and John Lucey, director of the Center for Dairy Research, discussed the impacts of current construction on programs in CDR and the Department of Food Science.

Industry partners provided feedback and advice. All parties clearly stated their support for the project and a shared goal of delivering a project that will make the dairy industry proud.

It was shared that the final report from risk-management specialists Hill International would be received shortly. Industry representatives strongly encouraged the project leaders at DOA, UW System and UW–Madison to conduct the third-party review after quotes for the final elements of processing piping came in over budget earlier in the spring.

An early draft of the Hill report identified keys areas that need to be addressed to ensure successful completion of the project:

• Completing outstanding design elements and ensuring the contractor and architect are committed to working with the project team to minimize costs
• Adding additional outside project management staff support to serve as an owners’ representative to drive down contingency and control the cost
• Addressing the funding gap

In the Hill analysis, the funding gap is reported as a wide range due to the current high-level of risk from incomplete drawings. The report recommends that the funding gap be minimized by completing necessary design and construction phasing planning as soon as possible.

Ultimately, any increases to the project budget will require approvals of both the UW System Board of Regents and the State Building Commission, whose members oversee all state building projects. Project leaders plan to take a proposal to the Regents and Building Commission when ready, likely in early 2020. Because this will be the only opportunity to ask for these approvals, it is vital that the proposal be complete and accurate.

In the coming weeks, DOA, UW System and UW–Madison leaders will digest the final report from Hill International and work together to implement the recommendations. Project leaders will continue to share updates following their ongoing meetings.