By Matthew Nash
Olympic Peninsula News Group
SEQUIM — Early estimates put finishing the remodel of the Guy Cole Center in Carrie Blake Park at upward of $210,000.
City Manager Charlie Bush said at the June 12 Sequim City Council meeting that city staff plans to have more concrete costs available at next Monday’s council meeting for the conference center’s second phase to renovate the kitchen and breakout rooms.
“We’ve got more work to do to crunch the numbers,” Bush said. “We will go through and see what is required for the code.”
The 34-year-old conference center reopened May 16 after closing in early 2016 to renovate the first phase of the building including the bathroom; lowering the ceiling and adding new acoustic tiles; installing new carpet, windows and trim; a new roof; exterior lighting; and paint inside and outside.
A $436,5000 grant from the 2015-17 Washington State Capital Budget through the Department of Commerce Direct Grant Program paid for the first phase, with about $90,000 available for the second phase, city staff said.
“We’re chewing up that available funding fairly quickly,” said Public Works Director David Garlington.
He said staff members have discovered additional costs such as adding heat pumps to the breakout rooms that would bring renovations for the rooms to about $72,000.
In the kitchen, city staff said some aspects are not compliant with city and fire codes, so some additions they are considering include adding a bigger hood over the range, a hood over the dishwasher, more sinks, burners and a stainless steel chef’s table.
“It all comes down to a very usable kitchen a caterer or someone else could go in and cook [in],” Garlington said. “We don’t want it so overdone that people with normal experience in the kitchen would feel overwhelmed.”
If city council members just wanted to bring the kitchen into compliance with city and fire regulations, he said, that would cost around $50,000.
The Guy Cole Center was built and finished in 1983 by the Sequim Lions Club and named after community advocate Guy Cole, who served in many roles.
For more information on the project and/or rentals, call the city of Sequim at 360-683-4139 or visit www. sequimwa.gov.
________
Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
