SEQUIM — The City Council approved this week a contract to furnish the new City Hall as well as a continuing plan to refurbish and remodel the Guy Cole Convention Center.
The council will consider changing the name of the convention center to Sequim Heritage Place.
The council voted 6-0 Monday night to approve a $460,000 purchasing contract with Facilitec of Washington, with offices located in Kent, to furnish City Hall and portions of the Police Department.
Councilwoman Laura DuBois was absent from the meeting.
Furnishings include $390,000 for general furniture, $75,000 for high-density shelving and other casework, $150,000 for technological systems and $25,000 for a council recording and sound system.
Other expenses include a police evidence locker and a selection of miscellaneous systems and office equipment.
The new 33,000-square-foot civic center, designed by Integrus Architecture of Seattle, is projected to cost a little more than $16 million, including land acquisition and other expenses associated with the project.
It is currently projected to be completed on schedule, City Manager Steve Burkett said.
Guy Cole
The council also heard an update on the progress of remodeling and updating the Guy Cole Convention Center.
The 8,000-square-foot center at Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Blake Ave., was built by Lions Club volunteers about 30 years ago.
Councilman Ken Hays, who is an architect, is donating professional services to help create the design for the remodel.
The design Hays selected is the addition of free-standing outdoor canopies to create an entryway and a covered patio, three large garage-style doors to create a connection to the patio, new paneling, upgraded restrooms, an upgraded kitchen, improved acoustics in the main hall and the creation of storage areas for tables and equipment.
The main hall would seat about 240 with a stage or 300 in a dining-only configuration, with two smaller rooms that would seat 18 and 30 for smaller events, Hays said.
North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center building trade students from the Sequim School District have been contracted to do much of the drywall work, painting and other simple construction work at the convention center.
Building trades students completed much of the construction work for the remodel and restoration of the historical Sequim High School building, which is now used as the district’s office.
A name change for the Guy Cole center has been discussed among members of the committee working on the center’s upgrade, and there were no arguments against it, Hays told the council.
Guy Cole was a member of the Lions Club and was instrumental in the building project.
“The Cole family accepts the renaming and is comfortable with the change,” Hays said.
The Lions Club has also been contacted, and no one at the club has objected to changing the name of the facility, he added.
Council members said a change of name for the remodeled facility would be considered at a future meeting.
That discussion has not been scheduled.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsula
dailynews.com.
