PORT ANGELES — Equipment for ground work is expected to arrive at Stevens Middle School in late April with a groundbreaking in May — the first step in replacing the 65-year-old facility with a new, three-story building scheduled for completion in 2028.
Will Crothers and Amy Vanderhorst of Integrus, the architectural firm hired by the Port Angeles School District to design the new school, updated the board at its meeting Thursday on the status of the project, which was funded by the 2020 capital levy that voters approved.
“We’re in the process of finalizing construction documents so they’re ready to go out to bid,” Vanderhorst said.
The interior of the new school will feature lots of natural light and natural colors and textures that integrate coastal, forest and alpine elements, Crothers said. The design scheme is based on input from students, staff and the community.
“We didn’t want anything trendy that would look dated in five years,” he said.
The gym will undergo a significant remodel, including a seismic upgrade and new HVAC and electrical systems. Additional doors will be installed so it will meet fire code egress requirements, and more bleachers will be installed so the entire student body will be able to gather for all-school assemblies.
The Integrus presentation can be found at tinyurl.com/yuhfwhmf.
Dealy Etter of Forma said it, Integrus, Vanir Construction Management and the district have been working together during the past six months to make sure the project stays on track. To date, it is $320,236 over its $58,639,066 budget.
“It’s a lot of money, but when you look at the overall project, that’s just .05 percent,” Etter said. “The fact that we’re that close is a huge nod to the team.”
Bid packages for civil, site and earthwork activities will go out in a couple of weeks, he said. Structural concrete foundations with rebar and anchor bolts for the new classrooms and the gym will go out soon so that work can take place over the summer. Digging footings for the classrooms will take place in August.
Opening bids for the biggest chunk of work — mechanical, electrical, plumbing, painting, lumber, landscaping — is planned for around July 10-11.
In December 2023, the board chose a general contractor/construction manager alternative delivery model for Stevens Middle School because it offered a more cost-effective project delivery method than the traditional design-bid-build model. As part of its agreement with Forma, it asked the company to prioritize recruiting local subcontractors for the project.
The board unanimously approved the job description for a director of capital projects who will oversee a slate of district construction activities, including Stevens Middle School. It can be found at tinyurl.com/y8vnysje.
In other news, the board will review applications for the superintendent position this weekend and meet to discuss the candidates in an executive session via Zoom from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Director Kirsten Williams said Human Capital Enterprises, the firm the district hired to manage the search, anticipated there being four to six candidates who will advance to the first round of interviews. Those will be conducted in an executive session via Zoom on Feb. 22 that will conclude with an open session at which the board will announce the finalists, who will be identified by a letter, not by name.
The names of the candidates and finalists are not being made public during the hiring search. The district will announce the name of the next superintendent only after the board has made its decision.
Information about the superintendent search can be found on the district’s website at tinyurl.com/2dpb685b.
Meanwhile, Roosevelt Elementary sixth-graders Avery Coffey, Anne Mavy and Kaiki Uemoto were honored as the district’s students of the month. Coffey received her award in person; Mavy and Uemoto were unable to attend the presentation.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
