Seven months after opening for business, some finishing touches remain on the Sequim Civic Center but its construction contract is signed off for good.
Sequim city councilors unanimously approved the $12,723,131 contract with with Lydig Construction on Dec. 14, which included a total of nearly $857,000 additional
expenses not including tax to the Guaranteed Maximum Price of $11.845 million.
Public Works Director David Garlington said there were 15 total change orders with many of them lumped together due to project type. Of them, five were credits worth about $50,000.
Some of the most expensive additional changes included overall floor plan changes ($31,296), design fees for floor plan changes ($12,573), rerouting a sewer ($23,634), HVAC revision to the server room ($22,875), Civic Center Plaza and Cedar Street redesign fees ($16,228.21), and mail room and administration work room revisions ($19,327.66).
Garlington said a large portion of the additional costs came from revisions to the plaza. Its total costs came to $525,000, which includes the plaza redesign.
In the center’s concept, the project came to just over $16 million but this included purchases and work dating to 2011. However, city officials said the construction budget remained the same until the change orders.
Garlington said the initial contract included only a “bare bones plaza.”
“If you look at all the cost of the project, design work, purchase of property, all the different things that went into it, we’re looking at coming in under budget of about $133,000,” he said.
While that amount isn’t set, Garlington said going under budget is good for a project of this complexity.
With its near completion, City Manager Charlie Bush said effectiveness is up, too.
“Staff collaboration is light years ahead of where it was because we’re all in the same place,” he said.
What’s left?
Garlington said at one point Lydig had 2,200 items to finish before opening the Civic Center with some small projects — fixing a dab of paint on the wall — to some serious problems with the HVAC system.
“It wasn’t entirely smooth at the end getting all the elements together,” he said.
In the coming weeks, Garlington said Lydig plans to find a tougher paint for the main stairway and apply for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design or LEED Silver Certification.
There’s also a dispute between Lydig and a landowner over a utility vault’s location, but city staff said it’s not a city issue.
City Attorney Craig Ritchie said the issue is mostly a question of design and the vault’s height and whether or not it is a tripping hazard or not.
Project totals
The city entered into a design-build contract with Lydig Construction and Integrus Architecture that protects both sides in certain circumstances. Additions like the plaza come at the city’s expense.
To help pay for construction, the city turned to voters to pass a 0.1 percent public safety tax in 2012 for the police station portion. The following year, the city sold
$10.4 million in municipal bonds for construction and $3 million in utility bonds in 2014 for the utility portion of the building.
City staff said they’ll pay $665,000 annually in debt service on the center, which includes funds from the safety tax, Real Estate Excise Tax, utility rate revenue and other revenues.
Bush said he’s heard rumors of more taxes being imposed to pay for the building, which are not true. Additionally, a state audit found the city to be in compliance with using public resources during the construction and planning process of the Civic Center.
City Roundup
• In January, city councilors will consider endorsing the Sequim School District’s proposed $54 million construction bond at the prompting of City Councilor Ted Miller. “The city overwhelmingly approved it in all six precincts by more than 61 percent,” he said. “There’s no more need to be ambivalent about it. The people have spoken.” City councilors meet next on Jan. 11.
• The city will sign on as co-applicants with the Sequim Picklers for a $100,000 grant to build courts in Carrie Blake Part as a community project through the state’s supplemental 2016 state budget, said Bush. Next year, the city allocated $51,000 toward the project and Bush said if they receive the funds, it’ll be enough to build the courts.
• A sale is pending on the Greathouse Motel, 740 E. Washington St., Ritchie said. A former employee of Unibank cancelled utility services on the property after taking back ownership, Ritchie said, despite city staff advising them to keep services on. So city councilors agreed to overlook $126,485 in General Facility Charges on Dec. 14 to have the business back in operation. The new tentative owner agreed to pay $20,000 in past standby, interest and penalty charges as if the business never disconnected.
• City staff seeks any information regarding the totem pole in Carrie Blake Park near the duck pond by Blake Avenue and Matt Dryke Olympic memorial. Reach the city at 683-4139.
• Laura Dubois and Erik Erichsen were honored for their eight years as city councilors on Dec. 14. They opted not to run for third terms and their replacements Pam Leonard-Ray and John Miller were elected in November. Erichsen was not present for his last meeting.
