by George Larson
The School Board says, “It’s cheaper to remove and replace the middle school than it is to remodel the middle school.”
The round numbers given are over $4 million for the replacement, plus over $5 million for site prep, and plus $3 to $5 million in soft costs. This adds up just around half of the $27 million bond total.
The $4 million+ for the replacement of the middle school of about the same size is straight forward.
The $5 million+ for the site prep is more of a guess! Demolition of everything above the slab and foundation is straight forward. However, San Juan County does not want the trash. It has to be driven to the ferry, where the prevailing wage paid driver waits for the ferry, rides the ferry while we may have been bumped by the overload and are left in the line. Sometime later on in this day the driver goes on overtime before he can return to Orcas. Multiply this by 100+ times!
Phase 2 of the $5 million+ is the removal of the concrete slab and foundation. This slab and foundation is in great shape and will last for eons. Anyone who has been around the breakup of concrete realizes that is a noisy and dusty event. This is not conducive to a campus of teaching and learning. The answer is to do this in the summer break and let the tourists and ferry riders bear the brunt during peak season and pity the bike riders between Eastound and the ferry landing.
The amount of concrete in place as shown on the original drawings is significantly less than the amount that was installed because the original drawings did not show the actual contours. The extra concrete was covered in one of the early change orders on the original contract. This most likely means the site prep estimate needs to be increased.
It is not only cheaper but also much easier to stop the demolition at the top of the existing concrete. If the architect and the Orcas School Board would use the existing building footprint and build on the existing concrete a lot of money could be saved. It would save about a half a million plus in the replacement estimate for utilizing the existing concrete, about 4 million in the site prep, and 2 million plus in the soft costs estimate. Remember a million dollars of soft money is the same as a million dollars of hard money. The total saved is $6 to $7 million in round numbers if only the Orcas School Board and their architect would chose to use most of the existing outline of the Middle School.
The existing foundation can easily be drilled for grouting hold down anchors for the earthquake design.
The existing slab can be saw cut and filled back in for new waste lines.
There is no doubt in my mind as to what to believe or not.
George Larson lives on Orcas Island. George Larson lives on Orcas Island. His company, Harbor Lights Construction, built all of the school buildings since 1969.
