With six more Lawrence schools readying for construction this fall, at least two city commissioners said this week that the city should reconsider its previous decision to exempt the district projects from the city’s standard building inspection process.

“Now that we have identified the fact that this work is being done in a way that is not safe for the public, we have to react,” said Commissioner Matthew Herbert, who also is a teacher at Lawrence High School. “We need to look into what we need to do to insert ourselves into this situation.”

Herbert’s comments come as questions continue to be asked about the Lawrence school district’s $92.5 million bond project that is renovating 20 schools and that built a college and career center.

Lawrence Superintendent Rick Doll said he also was willing to discuss with city officials how the city’s inspection process could be used on the remaining projects. School district officials last year asked for a reduction in the estimated $285,000 in building permit fees that would be charged to the school district by the city. City commissioners at the time, though, unexpectedly denied the request for a reduction in fees, and instead said the school district could use third-party inspectors for parts of the project that normally would have been inspected by the city’s building inspections department.

“I am certainly open to talking again to the city of Lawrence about inspections,” Doll said. “The school district never requested a waiver of city inspection services, only a reduction or waiver of fees.”

On Aug. 13, an 8-year-old child walked onto the grounds of New York Elementary School, 936 New York St., because there was no construction fence to keep people out. The child was injured when a 350-pound gate fell on him, breaking several bones and causing the top part of his lungs to collapse.

A city site plan called for construction fencing to be in place, but the inspection system being used by the school district did not ensure that fencing was in place.

Combes Construction of Bucyrus, the contractor for the New York Elementary project, has not returned calls requesting an interview.

Mayor Mike Amyx said last week that he plans to talk with interim City Manager Diane Stoddard about whether it is feasible for the city to begin construction inspections on the remaining projects.

Amyx is the only member of the current commission who was on the commission in May 2014 when the City Commission unanimously agreed to allow the school district to use third-party inspectors. Amyx said he thought the district was going to seek assistance from the state for the inspections.

Ultimately, the school district relied heavily on using a single code inspector employed by Douglas County, which offered the inspector’s services at no cost to the school district. As part of the inspection system created by the school district, contractors were told there would be no inspections for site safety, leaving that responsibility to contractors.

Last week acting City Manager Stoddard told the Lawrence Journal-World that city staff already is researching what the city’s options are to add city inspections to the remaining projects.

Stoddard said via email that city staff believes the only way to reverse the decision to waive inspections and fees for the construction projects would be for the city and the school district to reach an agreement to do that.

Doll said Friday he was open to a discussion. But there will be issues to resolve. Because the district already made arrangements with private inspectors for the remaining bond projects, “we would need to consider those factors, along with our project timelines, in any future discussions with the city,” Doll said in a statement.

Doll also said district projects have passed inspections by either Douglas County or third-party providers and the Kansas State Fire Marshal, using the same building codes that are applied in city inspections.

The seven elected school board members who oversee the school district were reluctant to talk publicly this week about any concerns they may have about how the construction project has been handled.

Vanessa Sanburn, board president, said she would not comment because “I’m not comfortable discussing it. I have been in contact with the superintendent and it is something that we are discussing.”

Shannon Kimball, a second-term board member, said she could not comment.

“I can’t comment, I’m not able to comment,” Kimball said. “Other topics, I’m always happy to talk. This particular one, you should follow up with Julie Boyle (the district’s spokeswoman).”

Marcel Harmon, the board vice president, and the other four board members, Kristie Adair, Jessica Beeson, Jill Fincher and Rick Ingram, did not return phone calls requesting an interview.

The schools where bids will be submitted soon are Broken Arrow, Deerfield, Pinckney, Prairie Park, Schwegler and Sunflower.

City Commissioner Herbert said he didn’t want to try to guess why the city made a decision to waive the inspections, but he said that it should not have happened.

“The idea of having a lesser level of inspection should not be something that is ever on the table,” Herbert said. “There is a reason those (regulations) exist.”

Different standards for different people, businesses and government also should not happen, Herbert said.

“We all ought to be on the same page for safety inspections,” Herbert said. “So if a private citizen is building a home and is held to one standard, I don’t see why a government entity or school should be held to a different standard.”

Herbert also said people need to understand that codes save lives but cost money to enforce.

“If it is going to cost you $280,000 to do the inspections properly, that needs to be part of your budget,” he said. “You can’t come to us and say, ‘We have a $92 million bond issue but we don’t have any room to pay $280,000 worth of permits.’ It’s just common sense to me that you do things the right way even if they cost slightly more because doing them the wrong way is going to cost you a whole lot more.”

Amyx said in the future he would likely recommend against the city waiving inspections and building permits.

“In the future I would have a hard time considering a waiver because I think it is our responsibility,” Amyx said.