Early estimates by City of Sequim staff put finishing the remodel of the Guy Cole Center in Carrie Blake Park at upwards of $210,000.
City Manager Charlie Bush said at the June 12 Sequim City Council meeting that city staff plan to have more concrete costs available at the June 26 council meeting for the conference center’s second phase to renovate the kitchen and breakout rooms.
“We’ve got more work to do to crunch the numbers,” Bush said. “We will go through and see what is required for the code.”
The 34-year-old conference center reopened on May 16 after closing in early 2016 to renovate the first phase of the building including the bathroom, lowering the ceiling and adding new acoustic tiles, installing new carpet, windows and trim, a new roof, exterior lighting and paint inside and outside.
A $436,500 grant from the 2015-2017 Washington State Capital Budget through the Department of Commerce Direct Grant Program paid for the first phase with about $90,000 available for the second phase, city staff said.
“We’re chewing up that available funding fairly quickly,” said Public Works director David Garlington.
He said they’ve discovered additional costs such as adding heat pumps to the breakout rooms would bring renovations for the rooms to about $72,000.
In the kitchen, city staff said some aspects are not compliant with city and fire codes so some additions they are considering include adding a bigger hood over the range, a hood over the dishwasher, more sinks, burners and a stainless steel chef’s table.
“It all comes down to a very usable kitchen a caterer or someone else could go in and cook,” Garlington said. “We don’t want it so overdone that people with normal experience in the kitchen would feel overwhelmed.”
If city councilors just wanted to bring the kitchen into compliance with city and fire regulations, he said that would cost around $50,000.
The Guy Cole Center was built and finished in 1983 by the Sequim Lions Club and named after community advocate Guy Cole who served in many roles.
For more information on the project and/or rentals, call the City of Sequim at 683-4139 or visit www. sequimwa.gov.
Pickleball courts delayed
Plans to install eight tournament-quality pickleball courts in Carrie Blake Park by year’s end have been pushed into 2018.
Charlie Pugh, vice president for the Sequim Picklers, said due to topography challenges of the site, some civil engineering work is required to estimate the cut and fill requirements to produce a flat site for the courts.
Earlier this year, members of the Sequim Picklers and its pickleball facility committee were optimistic to have the new courts as early as August built to the east of the Sequim Skate Park and next to the planned new entrance to Carrie Blake Park next to Trinity United Methodist Church.
Pugh said city staff agreed to perform the needed engineering work but a civil engineer won’t be free until late fall.
“For that reason there will be a short delay in getting the courts built but we expect them to be completed now by April 2018,” he said.
Members of the Sequim Picklers said by working with the city it delays the project but saves the group upwards of $25,000.
Assistant City Manager Joe Irvin said the Sequim Picklers had a professional architect assisting pro bono on design but city staff feel there is a big difference between an architect and engineer’s services.
“The Pickleball Court design needs to be finalized with biddable and constructible plans and specifications,” Irvin said.
“In order to assist the Sequim Picklers with designing pickleball court plans and specifications the city offered up the services of our engineering staff as long as the timing for those services could be pushed out to the late fall time-frame.”
The Sequim Picklers reached its goal to raise $196,000 for court construction earlier this year. Efforts to build dedicated pickleball courts started in December 2014 with the formation of the Sequim Picklers’ facility’s committee. Later the group partnered with the City of Sequim which provided $51,000 and court space, Sequim Family Advocates to fundraise under its 501(c)3 umbrella, the Albert Haller Foundation which provided $10,000 and the Myrtle Walkling Foundation $2,000, and multiple businesses, groups and residents to raise funds.
Clallam County commissioners also approved to give $34,000 from Clallam County’s Lodging Tax Fund earlier this year as well.
Pickleball players currently play at Sequim Community School’s basketball courts along Third Avenue and Fir Street and in the Sequim Boys & Girls Club during the winter.
For more information on the Sequim Picklers, visit www.sequimpicklers.net.
Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
