March 22 Update

Design Committee had its first meeting. The team collaborated on possible designs that would include retention of the existing gym. DOWA-IBI (architects) facilitated the meeting and provided lots of time for the 26 people in attendance to experiment with different configurations for the new school. No decisions have been made at this point. DOWA-IBI is working to develop some preliminary drawings that the team will evaluate on Thursday, March 28 at 6 p.m. at THS. We'll also get some idea of costs for these designs.

This is a photo of Bud Hawk Elementary in Bremerton. Community members loved this look during the January visioning session.

Surveyors have been "decorating" the campus with flags. They're making measurements to plot the topography of the site. This process is expected to take two weeks. Geotechnical engineers will be drilling near the front of the school on Monday to sample soils and assess the current foundation of the building. The historical consultant is continuing her work to assess the architectural historical significance of the building.

You can see photos and notes from Monday's meeting.

I presented at the Big Community Meeting on Mar 21. You can see my presentation here.

If you're interested in participating in the design of the new school, there is still time to commit to the team. We estimate that it will require about 8 hours per month through October (including the summer months). If that doesn't scare you and you want to help design the best school possible with the resources available, we'll see you on Thursday!

Please share the link to this page with others so that everyone can follow our progress.

Architects Hired! March 8 Update

The Design Committee recently scored the qualifications of three architectural firms. Two of those firms were interviewed by the board last night. EL Architects and DOWA-IBI made one-hour presentations each. Community members in attendance were asked for their opinions and input by the board. Following deliberation, DOWA-IBI was selected as the project architect. They have been working on ideas for the Design team to consider and presented over two dozen possible scenarios last night. The Design Committee will begin serious, on-going deliberations beginning in the next week or two. The preliminary schedule calls for schematic design to be completed by the end of April.

So much is happening behind the scenes this week. Our project manager, Doug Nichols, has been working to engage surveyors, geotechnical engineers, hazardous materials consultants and archeologists to do preliminary work on our site. We're digging into our archives to retrieve past reports that may save us some funds in this process. Surveyors are expected to be on site next week looking at topography and locating utilities. Archeologists are doing research to determine if an excavation is warranted. We're searching for any past studies that were done on the site to mitigate costs.

As I've said before, this is an aggressive schedule. We're moving quickly and working hard in order to receive our state matching (SCAP) funds in the 2019 fiscal year. If we miss the July disbursement, we'll need to wait until next July. Inflation on construction costs is about 6% per year. This is $1.5 million on a $25 million project. We'd like that $1.5 million to go to our school, not to inflated costs. Our budget will be very tight and we can't afford to lose any capacity.

If you would like to participate in the design of the new school and can commit approximately 8 hours per month to meetings through the end of October, 2019, please contact Dale Merten or me so that your name can be added to the group. This school will be built to last our community 50 years and design is a critical factor.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, I invite you to contact me.