Taking a new look at school’s renovations
Published 9:56 am Saturday, March 15, 2014
It’s back to the drawing board for Orcas Island School District, at least when it comes to their construction plan.
The design and permitting for the construction project has been finalized, but after receiving bids that came in 12 percent higher than the expected cost, the board decided to rethink certain aspects of the plan.
“[It’s] not a new design, a reconfiguration of the original design,” said board member Janet Brownell. “The bids came in too high. We needed to look for ways of possibly lowering the cost of construction.”
After two bond rejections, voters eventually approved a scaled down, $11.9 million version for campus renovation. Voters also approved a two-year general technology capital projects levy that will pay for modernizing the school’s technology facilities.
The $7.5 million construction component is what the board is looking at to be reconfigured.
The architectural firm Mahlum has designed plans that keep the existing foundation and calls for extensive remodel work in the elementary school, library and cafeteria. The middle school will also move into what is now the library, building 200. That building will need to be redesigned into the new middle school. In addition, a satellite building will be constructed for career tech education. That site will also be used to house students during the school year when construction is taking place.
Project Manager Liz LeRoy of Alliance Construction Management in Seattle said they are currently working on how to reduce the cost of construction without changing the scope or design of the entire project.
“We want to simplify the process and give more ease of access for the contractor for longer durations so they are able to sequence the work easier,” she said.
For example if a mechanical contractor needs to work on the site, she wants to make sure he can work on every building necessary instead of having to make three trips. She said it really is a matter of organization. They are in the early stages of working out how to reduce costs. They plan to have a new bid package out by March 27.
The new plan may affect the use of some spaces for kids and faculty. LeRoy said teachers may have to be more flexible when it comes to construction.
Although the new configuration might cause short-term obstacles for staff and students, there is a long-term goal at stake.
“We want to do things right… we don’t want to go the wrong way to make numbers work in the short term,” said LeRoy. “We want to do things the right way.”
To read a break down of the phases of construction or for more info on the bond, visit http://www.islandssounder.com/news/246023261.html
