THE SELMA TIMES-JOURNAL

Some of the schools are in need of repair and the Selma City Board of Education has chosen two to firms take on the job.

On Thursday night, the board voted to hire Goodwyn, Mills, and Cawood architectural firm of Montgomery to oversee repairs and renovations to the School of Discovery&8217;s Gym and Edgewood Elementary&8217;s roof. Exford LLC of Birmingham will take on the the gym renovation at Selma C.H.A.T. Academy.

The board met in a special called committee meeting Tuesday night when

it listened to presentations from three architectural firms and one project management consulting firm on what they could do for the pending projects.

Interim superintendent Verdell Lett-Dawson said the purpose of the meeting was to determine the direction the board wants to go with the schools. Edgewood will need a new roof, but the roof can be flat, slanted, or retrograde-fit, the newest trend in school roofing.

Representatives from each firm cited their qualifications and the reason they were right for Selma&8217;s school projects.

Bill Wallace, of Goodwyn, Mills, and Cawood, said Selma City would benefit from staffers who have part ownership in the firm, and would demand excellence in the projects. Wallace cited high rankings in business journals and an extensive in-house staff that could be utilized as needed for any of the projects as qualifications, in addition to experience working with the school system and in Selma and Dallas County on previous projects.

Current and future projects for the firm include a kindergarten through 12th-grade school in Georgiana, a new high school in Leeds, and a new Jackson-Olin high school in Birmingham.

Carl Exford, of Exford LLC, said his firm focuses on problem-solving and building relationships. Exford said much of his business is repeat customers, and his fees would not fluctuate when contracting outside work.

The firm&8217;s educational projects included a new gym at A.H. Parker High School in Birmingham, a K-8 school in Wylam, and additions to Tuscaloosa Middle School, Miles College, Stillman College, Lawson State Community College, and Linden High School.

Other projects were the Alabama Judicial building in Montgomery and the McWane Center in Birmingham.

Exford&8217;s Selma experience included work on the fine arts and health sciences buildings at Wallace Community College.