PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Healthcare CEO Mike Glenn presented what he called a “sneak preview” of renderings and a budget for the latest version of its $125 million campus modernization and expansion project to commissioners in a special meeting Wednesday.
Glenn and his design team are racing against a deadline of July 27, when commissioners will decide on whether the project should be put before Jefferson County voters as a bond referendum in the Nov. 8 general election.
The deadline to file for the general election is Aug. 2, which also is the primary election.
Jefferson Healthcare would put up about half of the funds.
The campus modernization and expansion project is using a design-build delivery system in which Jefferson Healthcare, ZGF Architects, Abbott Construction and project manager OAC Services work as a team collaborating throughout the process, from renderings to completion.
OAC Services was hired as a requirement for approval of the design-build plan Jefferson Healthcare submitted to the state Department of Enterprise Services.
The renderings were more detailed and significantly different from the ones Glenn presented to the commissioners at their June 22 meeting. At the time, he hesitated to show them.
“The most certain thing I can tell you about it is that’s wrong,” he said.
It was the nature of the design-build process and its “real time” approach to changes and updates that Glenn said enabled the project team to respond to and incorporate commissioners’ comments and show them the results Wednesday.
Glenn said he and his design team have been working to balance cost-efficiency, space and best delivery of services while paring away at the current estimated project cost of $125.134 million.
However, Glenn said it would be premature to present the renderings and budget to the public until after the commissioners have voted on whether to move forward and, if so, a dollar figure would appear on the ballot.
“The thinking is that we’ll have three months to continue to present and solicit feedback and engage with the community,” he said.
Jefferson Healthcare hosted five online sessions this spring to solicit feedback from the public on the project. Fall outreach would include in-person and virtual meetings across the county.
The next commissioners’ special meeting, during which they will discuss the campus modernization and expansion project, is Wednesday, July 20.
Jefferson Healthcare meeting and agenda minutes can be found at: https://jeffersonhealthcare.org/hospital-commission.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
