School Architects Introduced to the Public This Week

The Orcas Island School District (OISD) Board decided late last month to sign a contract with Mahlum Architectural firm to oversee the design and reconstruction of several of the school district buildings. This week, Mahlum Principal Bud Reifert and Associate Principal David Mount have made the rounds of public meetings to inform the public about the project.

Orcas Islanders passed a bond five years ago to remodel the Middle School and put in a Career and Technical Education Building. But the construction never began because the amount of money realized — $400,000 — wasn’t enough, said OISD Superintendent Barbara Kline.

Since then, the Board decided to save the money and plan to be ready when the bond expired to ask for adequate funding to fix some of the larger projects such as plumbing and heating in the older, but still useable buildings, and to demolish the middle school and library buildings that haven’t stood the test of time.

In the process of interviewing nine architectural firms last month, the board learned that most of them “admired the elementary brick building, although plumbing and heating elements need to be upgraded, and called the vaulted gym a “wonderful building,” said Kline to a meeting of the Kiwanis Club on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

However, the middle school building and the library have maintenance, design and energy efficiency flaws that have slated them for demolition. Kline said that the district spends around $200,000 a year for utilities.

In the process of designing new buildings, the vision for a community center has emerged, particularly in the construction of a Career and Tech Ed building, which may be used by the public on evenings, weekends, and in the summer, Kline suggested.

“If the recreation program gets back, I see them having the potential to run classes in school buildings — also the arts and ceramic classes,” said Kline.

Mount told the Kiwanis Club that Mahlum has had many public school district projects, and is “committed to doing our best work and working with the community, honoring an environmental approach to education and a community center that utilizes island resources.

“When we have capital funds to build facilities, we can incorporate energy-savings that free up more money for  school operations than paying fuel bills, etc.,” said Mount.

The OISD Board has been discussing the amount for the bond, scheduled to go before the voters next February. The bond figure has been estimated at $25 million, and the term of the bond – 15, 20, or 25 years – has also been debated in bond discussions.

Models showing the basic design plans will be presented during the bond campaign this winter, and “the real work will begin with the passage of the bond,” Kline said.

If the bond passes in February 2010, the public bidding for contractors will then take place, with about two or three years until completion, Mount estimated. “The construction bidding climate is good and should be good for the next year,” said Mount.

Kline emphasized that the architectural firm was “clear about their willingness to work with local contractors using state programs.”

In response to questions about the CTE building, Kline said that the intent is for student to get a sense of careers in high school in order to know what they want to go on and study after high school. But courses in applied physics, woodworking and marine technology, to give several  examples, require lab and work space, and access to utilities. “So I don’t see us doing plumbing or electrical apprenticeships,” said Kline. We have to get the building built first.”

The District plans to phase construction so there will be locations for ongoing education during the process, Kline said.

Preliminary studies of the remodel, completed by Sierra-Martin Architects, are on the OISD website, www.orcasschools.org.