CARLSBORG — Construction of new headquarters for the Clallam County Public Utility District is on schedule and within the approved budget, said Curly Page, general foreman with Neeley Construction.
“We are a quarter of the way through the project,” Page said.
“We are finished with the structural steel,” he said, adding that the second-floor concrete slab was poured Thursday.
The new 30,000-square-foot headquarters is under construction just west of the PUD’s massive central warehouse facility — a former Costco Wholesale — at the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and Hooker Road in Carlsborg.
The new facility, part of a $12 million “comprehensive facilities program” announced last March, will replace the aging headquarters building at 2431 E. U.S. Highway 101, about 2.5 miles east of downtown Port Angeles.
Construction began in December, with an expected completion date of October.
“Time-wise, and for our workload, I think it is progressing well,” added Dan Helling, site superintendent for Neeley Construction, which is based in Puyallup.
The facilities plan also calls for adding a new 6,000-square-foot engineering office to the operations facility located near Carlsborg Road north of U.S. Highway 101.
Construction there is also on schedule and within budget. That building is slated to open for business in July.
The estimated total cost of the new headquarters building in Carlsborg and the engineering addition to the Carlsborg operations center is estimated at $10.2 million.
By the end of construction, the new headquarters will incorporate 1,000 cubic yards of concrete, 175 tons of structural steel and 47 tons of rebar, according to Page.
In May, PUD commissioners approved a contract with Bellevue-based architecture firm Lawhead Architects to study and design the new headquarters.
According to PUD spokesman Mike Howe, in addition to containing the utility’s administrative offices, the new headquarters also will hold the customer service center.
“Overall, we are trying to create these extra efficiencies and one-stop shopping for the customers,” he said.
Howe said the new building is needed because the current PUD facilities are aging and would require significant capital to update to current industry standards.
“I do know it was a good time for us to do it because interest rates were good,” Howe said.
“The cost of construction was low because of the economy, and it is something that needed to be done.
“Our facilities were well-outdated. For the future of Clallam County, it is a good idea. We think it is going to be a good addition.”
As part of the plan, the PUD has razed the old Sequim Customer Office at 410 E. Washington St. but retains ownership of the property because an electric distribution hub is still located there.
In future years, PUD officials hope to build a new vehicle shop in Carlsborg to replace the one now located near William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles.
Back at the headquarters construction site, Helling noted that the unique building and location have made for some interesting challenges, such as an abundance of ground water.
“They say this is one of the driest places around the state. That may be, as far as rainfall goes,” Helling said.
“But for ground water, that has been a challenge.”
He said crews had to stabilize the bottom of the footing so they could work on the footings and build “without turning it all to mud.
“If you are working out there in a mud puddle, and that is down 4 to 7 feet in the ground,” it makes it difficult for the crews, he said.
“It turns into a swimming pool, and then mud.”
To overcome that obstacle, “we put a layer of controlled density fill [CDF] down underneath, and the crew could work on that,” Helling continued.
After that stabilized the wet ground, a pump was added to keep water out of the area, he said.
Helling said he is proud of his crew, which rotates depending on the specialties needed for each stage of construction.
“They are doing a great job,” he said.
“We are from the Puget Sound area, so we do have a couple of guys up here from there, but the local hands have been a really good workforce.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
