Estacada News August 24, 2005

The New Estacada Public Library By David Bugni, Chair, Estacada Public Library Foundation and Vic Cain, Chair, Library Citizens Advisory Committee Part 3 of 3

The last part of this series will focus on the construction of the new Library. The first part dealt with funding aspects and the second part concentrated on the Library’s design.

In the late spring, through a competitive selection process led by the Library Citizens Advisory Committee, the general contractor was selected. The successful firm was PC Construction, based out of Gresham. They have been in business for almost 40 years and have a wide range of construction experience, including libraries. The type of work P&C will perform on the new Library project is that of a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC). In this scenario, P&C Construction will continue to collaborate with the architect and their consultants on the development of the design and preparation of the design drawings. In October, they will present the City of Estacada with a guaranteed maximum price to build the new Library.

The CM/GC method was selected for this project for a number of reasons. Firstly, this method was chosen in order to retain, during the design, experienced construction estimating personnel for the Library, since we are working with such a tight budget on a fairly complex building, and the cost of construction has been escalating in recent months. Secondly, we wanted to phase the design to efficiently perform the work (similar to a “fast-track” approach), to minimize both the cost escalation and costs for wet weather construction. Total project time is thus reduced. Lastly, early involvement of the CM/GC firm helps build a collaborative relationship between the designer, owner, and the contractor. The construction of the new Clackamas River Elementary School and the remodel to the Junior High School in 2002 successfully utilized this approach.

Construction is slated to begin in September after an official ground breaking ceremony on September 12th. The work is expected to proceed without interruption until the building is complete. After the excavation, rough grading, and other initial site work is complete, the under-slab utilities, foundations, and concrete slab will be placed in October and November, followed by the framing of the Library. Once the roof is on (scheduled to be complete by the end of January), the finish work inside the building can begin. Commissioning of the building (fixing items requiring correction and testing of the systems) will occur next June, with a projected move in around the first of July. This date is sooner than we anticipated, and should result in greater economy, due to the quicker pace of construction.

As previously mentioned, the new Library will be a single story, wooden structure, with much exposed woodwork. Ample patron parking will be provided with space for about 39 vehicles (currently there is space for about 14 vehicles at the existing Library/City Hall).

Since we are still short of our $3.545 million goal (we are currently at about $3.075 million), the Library Foundation is taking donations of construction and landscaping materials. All donated materials are tax deductible. If you are aware of any opportunities along these lines, please let the Library’s project manager, Dave Piper, know at 503-310-9094. P&C construction is also interested in working with capable, local sub-contractors to help build the new Library. If you are a licensed sub-contractor and are interested in bidding on this project, please give Dave Piper a call.