Casper College is moving forward with its plans to build new residence halls.

The college board of trustees met Thursday and entered a pre-construction services agreement with Caspar Building Systems and Pope Construction, both located in Casper. Under the agreement, the college pays Caspar-Pope $35,000 to develop construction estimates and a guaranteed maximum price for completion of the project, according to Tim Brekel of ARC Integrated Program Management.

If trustees approve the price, the contract continues for the duration of the project. If they don't approve the price, the project can then be bid out to other firms. Brekel said there would have to be a major disagreement for the project to change hands at that point, and that the pre-construction agreement gives the firm an advantage.

"They're providing the estimating and scheduling and are going to be intimately familiar with the plans and what we're looking for in the project," he said.

The residence halls are part of the college's master plan, which includes construction of the Gateway Building, a new music building and a joint student union with the University of Wyoming.

"We have to be responsible with tax revenues to get the price and best value for the dollar we possibly can," said board president Dr. Scott Bennion.

Bennion said nine proposals were received for the project, and of the four finalists, two were from firms with in-state offices. The building design came from AndersonMasonDale of Denver.

Reach education reporter Jackie Borchardt at (307) 266-0593 or at jackie.borchardt@trib.com. Read her education blog at tribtown.trib.com/reportcard.