A contract with the company that will replace Ted Walker Pool is still being negotiated, but the firm moved its construction trailer on site in anticipation of a deal being inked soon.
Steve Duch, project manager for Triplett Wellman Construction, hopes to have a signed contract by next week.
He said time is getting tight to start the project, but it’s not at the “emergency” stage yet “by any means.”
He initially envisioned nine months of construction work, but said that timeline would have to tighten. “We need to get this thing going soon,” he said, noting cold weather was coming.
The Northern Wasco County Parks and Recreation District voted last week to authorize negotiations with Triplett Wellman for a $3.9 million project to replace the 50-meter pool, which was built in the 1930s and upgraded in 1990.
He and Karl Cozad, interim parks director, have been exchanging “edits” on a proposed contract, Duch said.
Duch said he understood there was no imminent time pressure on signing the contract, which would also trigger work on pool demolition, because another issue – getting a natural gas line to the pool site shut off – had to be resolved first.
Cozad said last Wednesday, Aug. 27, it would take up to 10 days for the gas service to be disconnected.
The two demolition and grading bids came in well over Duch’s estimate, but he said his estimate was done before he had detailed drawings from a civil engineer, which were “quite a bit different” from the “generic narrative provided by the design team.”
Estimating without detailed drawings was like “throwing a dart,” he said. “You’re taking your best
educated guess on what’s going to be required for that particular project.”
His excavation estimate was $215,000, and two bids for the work came in at $305,000 and $425,000.
He said things typically balance out in the end. “I might’ve guessed really bad on the site work, but guessed really good on the electrical. On the law of averages, we’re usually pretty good on the entire average.”
Duch said he is awaiting the full set of drawings for the project. Those come from the architect, who in turn uses companies from different disciplines to prepare various sets of drawings, from electrical to plumbing.
Those drawings are necessary for seeking a building permit for the project.
Architect Mark Seder, of Seder Architecture and Urban Design, said his goal was to have those final drawings submitted next week.
Seder noted the final drawings were already done, and permits obtained, for the demolition and other preparatory underground utilities work for the project.
“We’re blessed with having some really great teammates, collaborators and expertise on our team and I think that will show in the final product and the value that is gained,” Seder said. “We’re pleased to see everything falling into place and we’re going to have a wonderful and valuable product for the community and visitors,” he said.
Last week, the parks board also discussed the possibility of opening the pool in stages – such as having the pool open first while work finishes up on the adjacent office building and bathhouse.
But Duch said, “I’ll put a big maybe on that. The reason I say this, anything is possible, but typically building inspectors, fire marshals, do not like to grant partial occupancy of a project.”
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