Despite COVID-19 impacts, the summer months saw a lot of work on the project sites and in the offices of the professionals designing and managing the bond work. This month’s wildfires have caused significant disruption to the projects, as the levels of smoke have exceeded OR-OSHA guidelines. In addition, many of the crews have seen evacuations or worse, impacting their lives and ability to work. At the time of this report, we are seeing a return to normalcy, with the much-needed rain.
Garfield Elementary
Garfield Elementary is making progress towards being ready for teachers and students to return. The renovated classrooms in the west wing are nearing completion, and the new restrooms in the center of the building are scheduled for later this fall. The temporary office (in a classroom in the east wing) is almost done, with furnishings underway. The expanded front office has been framed and is on schedule for completion early next year. Roofing work continues, as does the completion of the parking lot. The “modular city” on the north side of the building is nearing completion, with classrooms being furnished with a reduced desk count to allow for proper physical distancing when students return. A key completion element is the new power service, which has been delayed by the wildfires. PacifiCorp’s crews are busy restoring power in the Santiam area, and that has been given priority.
Lincoln Elementary
The excitement grows at Lincoln Elementary, with structural steel now in the air. This framing process will take about two months, and the district is discussing a way to celebrate the “topping out” event (last piece of structural steel). The County’s clinic was successfully relocated and is operational. The utility work and pavement patching are complete for this phase of work. At the September 24 board meeting, the board was asked to approve some change orders for Lincoln, capturing added costs for City plan review changes, unforeseen underground utility changes, and some transactions for permit costs. These are normal course-of-construction issues, and we have budgeted contingency funds for this type of activity.
Husky Elementary
Husky Elementary is now well underway. At the site, the soft soils have been removed and replaced with compacted rock, footings are being formed and poured and site logistics such as fencing, gates, trailers, and outdoor meeting spaces are in place. For project meetings at Husky (and Lincoln), it is intended that we meet outdoors with proper physical distancing. Both sites have installed temporary covered areas to accommodate this.
Cheldelin Middle School
Cheldelin Middle School is looking good with a fresh new office renovation, the new restroom design, the refreshed cafeteria with stage access ramp, and a variety of less visible improvements finishing up. The STEAM lab will complete later this fall. Since the last report, an electrical supply challenge was overcome, restoring power to the building. Design efforts are underway for Phase 2 work, primarily seismic and HVAC. As a reminder, the media center is already designed and will be renovated next summer.
Remaining Schools
The designs for Jaguar, Adams, and Wildcat Elementary Schools continue. The Bond Leadership team will be recommending the use of some of the remaining bond reserves, with the final amount to be determined when the projects go out for subcontractor bids and we obtain a Guaranteed Maximum Price from Fortis. This should be early in 2021.
We are targeting a November bid for the Crescent Valley HS CTE project. The contracting market is far more favorable than when the project originally bid on April 4, 2020, a time of great uncertainty. The seismic upgrade project is currently under design. The CHS CTE project is almost at 100% Design Development, which indicates the architects will shift into Construction Documents mode, where additional changes are ideally avoided. The team plans to bid this work early in 2021.