Construction Updates

The following messages/alerts have been distributed through our campus e-mail system and are being posted here in an effort to inform as many as possible of construction activities that may impact the campus community.  Please check back frequently for any changes.

November 20, 2009

HUMANITIES/STUDENT SERVICES MOVING SCHEDULE
Building Occupancy Dec 14, 2009 Classes start Spring Qtr March 29, 2010
Date/Department	Contact	Count	From	To
Phase 1
December 14-18, 2009
ABE-ESOL	Elaine Williams	5	HOC	223
Access Services	Karen Fusco	3	Hum 114C	204
Career Center	Patty Triggs	7	Art 122C	206/207
Counseling	Kim McNamara	5	CSC 321	205
Testing	Jennifer Venegoni	3	CSC 417	222
Women's Programs	Daphne VanBerkom	2	CSC 324	205
VP Student Svcs	Rick MacClennan	3	CSC 300	201
		28
HOLIDAY BREAK Classes start Jan 4th
Phase 2
January 19-22, 2010
SEAC	Kim McNamara	13	SEAC	203
Running Start	Susan Tollefson	5	CSC 322	208
		18
Phase 3
February 1-5, 2010
Admissions	Jennifer Fyllingness	7	CSC 108	101
R & R	Dianna Larson/Nora Downard	17	CSC 114	105
Cashiering	Deanne Kupietz	5	CSC 117	106
Vet Services	Wendy McFadden	3	CSC 315	104
Fin Aid	Joseph Karoma	10	CSC 314	103
		42
Phase 4
February 8-12, 2010		Move R&R, Fin Aid Files
Phase 5
February 16-19, 2010
SSH	Gina Huston	3	MUS 103	310
Faculty	Phil Schaeffer	31	HUM	3rd Floor
Math	Phil Schaeffer	2		3rd Floor
ABE	Phil Schaeffer	4	ART	3rd Floor
Writing Center	Sonia Begert	2	HUM 115	312
		42
Phase 6
March 15-26, 2010 TBD	Caroline Hartse	Anthropology Lab		224

September 29, 2009

The generator test has been delayed until later in October. I will keep everyone informed as I know more. We are not sure how much noise this generator makes until we start it up.

Previous message stated: On October 1^st, we will start testing the new CSC/Humanities generator. The testing will be under load and will last several hours. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

For any questions or concerns, please contact Ken Blankenship at 475-7814 or e-mail him at kblankenship@olympic.edu.

August 29, 2009

On Monday, October 5^th, we will be closing 16^th and Chester down for repaving of the road and also some work on the sidewalk. The repaving will last three weeks. During that time, students will be routed around the back to Sci-Tech.

For any questions or concerns, please contact Ken Blankenship at 475-7814 or e-mail him at kblankenship@olympic.edu.

Posted August 18, 2009

As a lot of you know we are designing a new Child Development building. The new building will be built very close to the Child Care Play Ground and it will be located on the Old Barner property. To get the building under way we have to re-locate the high voltage line that serves the U-Quad area and also will be the power for the new building. There are data lines that also have to be re-located. To get all of this accomplished we are having the contractor that is working on the Humanities building dig the trench and lay the conduit. This needs to be done this week and next because that is the window we have to turn the power off to the U-Quads for a day. To get the trench dug and get the conduits installed we will have to remove the trees that have grown up alongside the HO building. These trees are not part of the orchard that is on the property and from what we have been told by the arborist these trees appear to have been put in for a perimeter screen and were not really intended to become the trees that they are now. Their location will be the new “green” play ground for the child care center. We will be removing these trees starting tomorrow. The trees become property of the contractor, who will determine their ultimate use.

Posted July 31, 2009

In an effort to save energy and have more sustainable systems, OC conducted a thorough energy audit. Olympic College has begun its contractor work to implement findings. There are three separate areas that are affected:

1) Lighting – the lights will be changed to more efficient energy lighting. This means that you may see the Light Doctor (our lighting contractor) changing out bulbs in your area or on the many parking lots around all three campuses.

2) Plumbing – all plumbing fixtures on the campuses that use more water than necessary will be changed to low flow fixtures. This means that you may see Swift Plumbing (the plumbing contractor) changing out the fixtures and you will notice a difference in how the toilet flushes.

3) Controls – all HVAC controls which need to be upgraded will be changed to the most energy efficient, easy to use controls.

Not all fixtures or controls will be changed. It will be done to many at the College that need it, but we will not be touching the areas that do not need it.

This entire project is being worked on by contractors and our maintenance department alike. For instance, our electrician is working with Light Doctor to ensure that we are getting the maximum amount of lighting in an area while Light Doctor ensures that we are meeting the lighting requirements. In this manner, we will make sure that the college gets as much out of this as possible and we can keep it as aesthetically pleasing as possible, while still meeting the requirements.

I know change is hard, but it will require effort on all of our parts to get used to things. For instance, a low flow plumbing fixture may mean that you cannot use as much toilet paper as you once did.

In the long run, these changes will help the college to save a LOT of energy and water and the return on investment of the entire project will be no more than about 5 years (in every case) in terms of savings and usage.

Please contact us if there are any questions. As always, thank you for bearing with us!

Posted July 21, 2009

We are recycling everything we can out of the houses. This comes very close to 100% of the materials inside, outside, and of the house (we cannot recycle items with asbestos in them).

To date we have recycled 186.72 tons of concrete, 350 tons of building material, and 60 tons of vegetation. We estimate that by the time we are completed with the job we will have recycled 775 tons of concrete, 1,450 tons of building material, and 250 tons of vegetation and contaminated dirt. The totals are estimates based on what we have recycled out of the first 7 houses, but we expect it to be close.

Posted July 17, 2009

This is being written to inform you of the project happening in the housing area between Warren and Broadway and 13^th and 16^th. There have been many questions recently about what the project entails.

The first phase of the project is acquiring the houses. Every person who has sold us their house so far has initiated the contact and has wanted to sell to us. We have accommodated those in the houses as best we can for their varying situations. Currently, we have bought 23 out of 29 lots (some have more than one house on the lot).

The second phase of the project is demolishing the houses. Some of you may have noticed that some of the houses have already been demolished. This phase is happening concurrently with Phase 1. The first 7 houses that were demolished included 5 on the Warren Avenue side and 2 on the Broadway side. The next 6 houses scheduled for demolition include 5 on the Warren Avenue side and 1 on the Broadway side. We are currently in the process of doing asbestos samplings from these 6 houses to ensure the workers in the area are safe. The fencing went up for this next batch of houses today.

It is important to note that before these houses were scheduled to be demolished, they were being used by Kitsap Community Resources as homes for those transitioning back into society from various personal situations. This has given these individuals a chance to live in a house rent free but learn to pay for their utilities so that they can get jobs, get things in order, and get practice for living in a home of their own in the future (KCR has more details about this program).

In addition, after the KCR tenants have moved out, the homes become available for two different groups of people to use for different purposes. The first is Habitat for Humanity. They are given the opportunity to come into these houses and take whatever parts they think they could use for building future homes. Once this is done, the second group (the police department, fire department, and SWAT teams) are given opportunities to train in these houses for their various department needs (never with any firing of weapons involved).

The third phase of this project is to make this area a gathering area/parking lot that will be the forefront of the college (since it is the first thing people see when driving north on Warren Avenue) on the east side of the campus. I do not have a lot of details on this yet as it is still in the initial planning phases. This phase of the project is scheduled to begin in April of 2010. Both the house acquisition phase and the house demolition phases will be completed before this one begins.

I will try to keep you appraised (no pun intended) of all the housing activities as we move forward with this project.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at (360)475-7811.  Thank you!

Posted July 10, 2009

Beginning on Monday, July 13, 2009 we will begin the restroom upgrades. This will continue throughout the summer. The expectations should include that there will be restroom closures and outages due to the upgrades. We will notify which restrooms at what times will be closed so that you may plan accordingly. If you have any questions please contact Ken Blankenship at 360.475.7814 or kblankenship@olympic.edu.

Posted June 26, 2009

As of today, the entrance to SEAC is now open.  The ADA ramp is still in work and users will need to go through the library until it is finished on August 3rd, 2009.  As always, thank you for your continued cooperation. 

Posted June 8, 2009

Please be advised that construction on the Bremerton campus has blocked the accessible entrance to the Student Entry and Advising Center (SEAC) through early August. Persons with mobility limitations who are unable to use the stairs are asked to enter SEAC through the library’s main entrance, and library staff will escort them to the SEAC.  For more information or to pre-arrange access please contact the SEAC at 475-7230. If the library is closed, contact the SEAC at 475-7230 or Security at 475-7800. 

Posted May 20, 2009

The red stakes that some of you may see under the large tree in front of the Library and the tree by the front of the Sci-Tech building are "lay-out" stakes that surveyors use for positioning points. There will not be any construction happening in these areas. As soon as the surveyors have completed their job they will remove the stakes. I have been assured that they will not affect the trees in any way. If you have questions, please feel free to call me.  Thanks to everyone that has called or e-mailed me with questions.

Posted May 10, 2009

Many of you may have noticed by now that the Student Entry and Advising (SEAC) entrance is blocked off for construction reasons.  This started two weeks ago and will be completed in approximately one month. 
The construction of the Humanities building is on schedule and is going well. 
The acquisition of housing for the parking lot between Broadway and Warren is going as scheduled and as smoothly as can be expected. 
As always, thank you for your patience as you bear with us through all of the inconveniences. 

Posted March 13, 2009

This is being sent out to notify you of a partial street closure. There will be a crane arriving on Monday, March 16^th to install the A/C unit on top of the new Humanities building and to raise the clocktower. This will require the crane to be in part of 16^th Street throughout the day. Therefore, the section of 16^th Street that is along the construction fence will be closed for the day. Students, staff, and residents to the East of Olympic College will need to use the parking lot as a throughput. It will only be closed Monday, March 16^th for the day and will be re-opened on Tuesday, March 17^th.

In addition, we wanted to update the campus on the roofing/tar situation. We realize that it is an inconvenience to many, but there are parameters that must be met before the tarring will be completed. The roofers need dry weather (less than 30% chance of rain) and they need the temperature to be above 40 degrees. We have been told that the roofers need 20 days of this type of weather before the roof is complete. As you can imagine, it may take longer than initially thought with upcoming weather. Please bare with us as we work to complete this part of the project as quickly as we can.

Please pass this on to all who may be affected by this.

Posted February 1, 2008
As printed in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce

Olympic College tops off humanities building

By JOURNAL STAFF

Olympic College recently topped off its Humanities and Student Services Building at 1600 Chester Ave. in Bremerton. General contractor Pease & Sons today is planning to set HVAC units on the building's roof.

When finished in November, the 80,000-square-foot building will house the humanities department and consolidate all student services into one location. It will have general purpose classrooms, distance learning classrooms, faculty offices and a counseling center.

The exterior of the three-story structural steel building will be clad in brick veneer with aluminium composite panels and metal siding.

The project includes a new campus entrance and plaza. Construction costs are estimated at $20.5 million.

Portland-based Yost Grube Hall Architecture is the lead architect and Bremerton-based Rice Fergus Miller Architecture and Planning is the supporting architect.

The design team includes Notkin Engineering (mechanical), KPFF Consulting Engineers (structural), SvR Design (civil and landscape) and Green Building Services (LEED consultant).

YGH's team includes Ned Vaivoda, John Blumthal, Tim Cowan and Adonica Marshall. The team at Rice Fergus Miller is headed up by Ron Easterday.

Major subcontractors include Rohwein Electric, Coastal Steel (structural steel erector), United Iron (structural steel fabricator), Axiom Construction & Consulting (metal panels and siding), Keystone Masonry, McDonald & Wetle (roofing), Harris & Hart (duct work), D.L. Hendrickson Construction (metal stud and structural framing, drywall installer), Bedrock Construction (earthwork), Specialized Landscaping, Kell-Chuck Glass and Pease Piping (plumbing).

Tacoma-based Pease & Sons is also handling concrete work. Pease's team includes project manager Dan Ritter, project engineer Paul Pearson and superintendent Pat Bell.

Posted January 27, 2009

We will be closing Chester Avenue starting the afternoon of January 28, 2009 for crane operations on the Humanities construction site. Traffic will be re-routed through the S-4 parking lot.  Chester Avenue will be reopened on January 30, 2009. 

Posted January 12, 2009

We are now looking at closing the Chester Avenue entrance the week of January 26^th. We will send out a follow up e-mail prior to this closure.

Posted January 9, 2009

If you are wondering about the flags strewn about near the humanities construction site and by the Health Occupations building, those are the flags that have been put up by our architects to mark the utility lines underground.  This was done so that we do not hit any lines while digging around the Sophia Bremer Child Development Center site underground.  Please feel free to let us know if any come loose in the current weather.  As always, thanks for your patience and understanding! 

Posted November 5, 2008

There has been some concern expressed about the welfare of the trees along the South side of Roosevelt Field (across the street from the Sci/Tech building). A trench has been dug next to the trees, and many roots have been cut and removed. The concern is natural as trees along the west side of Roosevelt field (across from the building under construction) were removed after trenching occurred there. In that case, the trenching was performed to accommodate utility and street construction as well as the temporary sidewalk. It resulted in damage or removal of most of the trees’ root mass. When construction is complete, new trees will be planted to replace the ones that were removed.

The new trenching is very different. The trench there has been dug to provide irrigation to the hedge and grass strip adjacent to the trees. During the construction of the Science and Technology building, this area was used for construction trailers, and the irrigation is part of the rehabilitation of the landscaping. The trees are expected to survive, and will benefit from the irrigation as well. As part of our ongoing commitment to maintaining and improving the campus’ green space, a licensed landscape architect will be out to examine the situation and assure that the trees have not suffered undue damage.

Posted September 12, 2008

We are writing to tell you that work is progressing as scheduled on our new Humanities and Student Services building and the new entry to the campus. We have construction meetings every Tuesday where we receive updates and schedules from the contractor, Pease and Sons. At this time, one can begin to see the footings being placed, and next week, concrete floors will be poured. Steel erection will begin on September 29^th. During the steel erection and for some time to come, there will be cranes and heavy equipment on site. This heavy equipment may cause some vibrations, but the vibrations will be on a smaller scale than those that you have experienced while we were placing the foundations.

Chester Avenue between 16^th and 18^th will be re-opened by September 22^nd, 2008. The road will be paved by September 19^th, 2008. Please keep in mind that this surface is only the first stage in the resurfacing process. As there will be heavy equipment running on top of it until the completion of the project, we will only put a primary surface down and then do the final resurfacing touches once the building project is completed and there is no more heavy equipment.

We will continue to keep you informed as construction proceeds.

As always, thank you for your continued patience. 

Posted August 14, 2008

The construction of the new entry area for the Bremerton campus has created a barrier between Roosevelt Field and the central area of the campus. The resulting confusion has frustrated students, staff and faculty, but will fortunately be short-lived. The pathway North of the Science and Technology building that is currently closed (the one between Science-Technology and 16^th) is scheduled to be opened to pedestrian traffic before September 22^nd (weather permitting).   In the mean time, those parking in Roosevelt Field will need to continue to walk around the Physical Education building, and between the Science and Technology Building and the Bookstore. Alternately, pedestrians can gain entry to the central spine through the BSC’s Eastern entry.

Eventually, the construction will provide a more useful, attractive and safer main entry to the Bremerton campus. In the mean time, we hope that you can bear with the inconveniences.

Posted August 13, 2008

The city of Bremerton is scheduling a water shutoff on Friday August 15, 2008 that will impact several buildings on campus. The buildings included in the shutdown are: The Library, University Quads, Health Occupations, Science Tech and Physical Education. The shutdown is expected to begin at 8:00 AM with water restored by 4:00 PM.

Posted August 6, 2008

As some of you have noticed, the trees in front of the library have been taken down. The reason for this is because these trees, according to our landscape architect, were diseased due to improper installation. Part of the construction of the new Student Services/Humanities Building includes the replacement of these trees with trees more congruent with the campus aesthetic. We will be sure to plant the replacements correctly. In an earlier email and later in a construction update, I noted that the trees would be affected by the construction, but I was not specific about the manner in which they would be affected. I’m sorry I was not clear that the trees would actually be replaced.

Facilities Services will shortly embark on a process of developing a landscaping plan for the Bremerton campus in keeping with the campus master plan. It is our goal to improve the appearance and benefit of the grounds. The campus master plan currently calls for a green central core with planted parking areas on the perimeter of the campus. If you are interested in seeing the master plan, a model and plan view are currently on display in the basement of the Library.

Posted August 1, 2008

We have been informed by the City of Bremerton that on Tuesday, August 5^th, the water in Sci/Tech and PE Buildings will be temporarily shut off between the hours of 9:00 am and 4:00 pm. Once the water has been restored, Facilities will open the outside taps and flush the lines for a few minutes. If you should have discolored water inside one of these buildings please turn the faucets on and let them run for a minute or two. If you continue to experience problems please call Facilities at ext. 7810

Posted July 25, 2008 

   The entry to the SEAC building is under construction to improve its usability and appearance. During this awkward period the SEAC area will only be accessible through the basement of the library. Wayward signs are being made and will be put up next week to help students and visitors find their way during the confusion.     
    The entire front section will be fenced off, including about half of the lawn in front of the library. The maples, light poles, and flag pole will all be affected during this construction. The smoking shelter will not be affected, and we will take special actions to protect the giant sequoia. An orange safety fence will be placed around the sequoia to protect it’s fragile root system. 
    Please honor the construction and safety fences. Construction is anticipated to last a minimum of three months, commencing July 28, 2008.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Ken Blankenship at 360-475-7814.

Posted July 23, 2008

I am writing to confirm that the Geopier installation has been completed. There will still be vibrations felt as compacting will continue for approximately a month. We understand that this will be felt in some areas of the surrounding neighborhood, and appreciate your forbearance. We apologize in advance for any disruption. The concrete trucks are scheduled to start arriving at the beginning of next week.

The sidewalk on the North side of the Science Tech building will be closed starting tomorrow, July 24, 2008. You will need to walk around the back side of the building to get to the campus grounds.

Posted July 3, 2008

Work has begun regarding the Geopier installation. This is to confirm that installation is scheduled to start at 7:00 am and continue to approximately 10:00 pm. We have run into a snag, however, with a drill bit. Therefore, our new completion time is scheduled for Friday, July 11, 2008.  We understand that this is being felt in some areas of the surrounding neighborhood, and appreciate your forbearance. We apologize in advance for any disruption.

As with our previous work, the City’s noise ordinance will be in effect. This means that the contractors may only use their equipment between the hours of 7:00 AM and 10:00 PM.

We will also be closing 16^th and Chester Ave, starting July 7, 2008 for an undetermined amount of time. Traffic will be re-routed through the parking lot.

If you have questions or concerns about the construction, you can email me at: kblankenship@olympic.edu, or call the Facilities Department at: (360)475-7810.

Posted May 21, 2008

We had our first construction meeting for the new Humanities building yesterday, May 20, 2008. At this meeting, we received a tentative two-week schedule from the contractors. You will begin to see trailers and the contractors will be setting up a temporary generator until they can hook up power from the campus. This may create some noise, but not an exceeding amount.

The first step of the construction process is to test the grounds for capability to hold a building. This means that there will be vehicles that will roll over the dirt while vibrating to ensure that the soil will not shake loose. The vibrations are scheduled to begin on May 30, 2008 and will last until June 6, 2008 during working hours. Please take note that this means there will be noise and vibrations during this week of construction.

The noise ordinance will be in affect. This means that the contractors will have none of their equipment on between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

We will continue to keep you informed as any other construction updates that will affect the campus arise.

Posted May 6, 2008

The electrical loop repairs were completed April 27th, 2008.  All codes and regulations are now being met and the contractors worked hard to ensure that this was fixed before any major outages occurred. 

The new Humanities building contract was awarded to Pease & Sons, Inc.  Construction will begin next week.  As always, the CSC Web Cam will be working and will be filming the construction throughout the entire process. 

As you can see now, the camera is currently pointing more towards the library side of the construction site.  The reason for this is the HUMANITIES GROUNDBREAKING that is taking place on May 8th, 2008 at 3 pm.  All are welcome, and if you cannot make it out, you are welcome to watch the groundbreaking on the CSC Cam. 

Thank you for your continued patience and cooperation!

Posted January 15, 2008

Last power outage…………for a long while we hope.

This outage will only effect the Bremerton campus.

Next weekend we will be finishing the repairs to the electrical loop. There will be work done on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but only two days will involve power outages.

Saturday, January 19^th - Work will be done on 2 switches, but there will be no outages.

Sunday, January 20^th – There will be an outage lasting 2 – 3 hours that will affect the CSC, Humanities, Health Occupations and U-Quad buildings.

Monday, January 21^st – There will be an all day power outage for the Bremer Student Center only.

By taking advantage of the holiday we are hoping to minimize the impact these outages will have on the campus community. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or write.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Posted December 31, 2007

In early December, OC submitted three capital project requests for funding beginning in the 2009-2011 biennium. These requests are consistent with the college’s updated master plan. The requests were as follows:

Replacement

College Instructional Center

Replace the existing Art, Music and Theater buildings with 75,000 square foot building that includes space for the programs currently housed in these buildings, as well as multi-media and health occupation programs.

Renovation

Shop Building

Renovate the Shop building, adding 6,000 square feet. The renovated facility will house welding, technical design, electronics and possibly a baking program.

Matching

Sophia Bremer Child Development Center

Build a new 10,000 square foot Child Development Center. This project is a partnership with the Bremer Trust

On December 19^th and 20^th, a group with representation from colleges throughout the State, as well as the SBCTC met to rate the 59 project requests submitted by community and technical colleges. They were ranked for each of the four project categories: Replacement, Growth, Renovation and Matching. This is the first of many steps leading to a ranked statewide community and technical college project list for consideration by the Governor in developing her 2009-2011 capital budget proposal, and ultimately consideration by the Washington State Legislature for inclusion in the final 2009-2011 capital budget.

OC’s three projects fared very well in this initial ranking:

Replacement – number 3 of 23 projects submitted

Renovation – number 4 of 14 projects submitted

Matching – number 3 of 13 projects submitted

Growth – 9 projects submitted, none by OC

Next the SBCTC Capital Budget Task Force will develop a capital budget proposal that will ultimately be submitted to the State Board. Once adopted, it will be forwarded to the Office of Financial Management for their review prior to developing the governor’s 2009-2011 Capital Budget Proposal.

The SBCTC Capital Budget Task Force will be looking at projects “in the pipeline” (design funds approved in current or earlier capital budgets), and determine how many projects in each of the four categories will be included in their recommendation to the State Board. They will consider past budget requests, actual funding levels, and reasonableness based upon the current economic outlook.

In summary, at this time OC’s projects are positioned well for inclusion in the 2009-2011 capital budget. I will keep the OC community informed as this process progresses.

Many thanks to the OC staff and faculty who have helped with the update to the Facility Master Plan and our three capital project requests.

Posted December 13, 2007

This message concerns the entire campus.

During recent construction we discovered some major issues within our primary electrical loop. These issues are significant to the point that repairs need to be done quickly and in a controlled environment before the real load of Winter hits, If we wait until then we risk experiencing a more catastrophic, unplanned outage that could have significant consequences.

The good news is; that we did find the problem before a major outage occurred. The bad news is; we have to create some planned, controlled outages in order to complete the repairs.

So, after much grappling with schedules, vendors and parts delivery issues – here is the schedule:

Saturday & Sunday, Dec. 22^nd&23^rd - Power will be shut down to the CSC, Humanities, Theater, Health Occupations, and University Quads. All day - both days.

Sunday, Dec. 30^{th -} The entire campus will be shut down for the whole day. All day means from 7am until 6 pm or later.

There will be a scheduled shut down of the BSC on a Sunday later in January once the remainder of the parts arrive. The rest of the work will not require any outages.

Hopefully there will be minimal impact to the campus. We have tried to schedule this so that you won’t even notice the work being done J

As always, Thank-You and if you have any concerns or questions please give me a call or send me an e-mail.

I wish you all of the Best this Holiday Season!

Posted November 5, 2007

The Demo is going well and the Contractors are on schedule. Here are just a few updates to that project:

1) The sidewalk….. it was discovered that the concrete sidewalk on Chester had numerous cracks in it so this weekend we asked the Contractor to pour an asphalt sidewalk above the tree line, parallel to the existing walk. The new sidewalk is level and smoother for pedestrian safety.

2) Trees… Yes, the trees on site are scheduled to be removed. The two Poplar trees on the North side of the Haselwood Library have rooted into our electrical vaults and it was discovered on Friday that the trees are hollow on the inside. They are rotten to such an extent that a professional logger refused to climb the tree to log it for safety reasons. Tomorrow another logging company with a bucket truck will be on-site to remove the trees.

3) Trucks… For the next several days, there will be a steady stream of trucks removing concrete. I would like to ask again that people be extra attentive when negotiating that area. We have assigned a Security Guard to the area to help get the trucks in and out and the people across the street safely. With the new sidewalk, we hope that will be an easier task. There is still NO PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC ALLOWED down the fence line. This is a potentially dangerous thing to do with concrete being loaded and the traffic in general. Please be careful.

Thank-you for your patience and your interest. The response to the ‘Updates’ has been very positive and I appreciate the continued interest in your campus community!

Posted October 23, 2007

Today, at about 10 am, you should see some light demolition begin on the Math-Science building. Heavier demolition will begin around noon, barring any complications. 

Posted October 18, 2007

OC Poulsbo is going well and they are still about 3-4 weeks ahead of schedule. Completion should be around Thanksgiving, barring any surprises along the way…

Playground is complete and the kids and staff are really enjoying it.

The Early Utilities project is wrapping up and Sound Excavating should be gone by Friday.

Demolition of Math-Science building. Titan Earthworks will be on site as early as Friday to begin set-up. At this point demo is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 22. If this date changes, I will let you know. The actual demolition will take 2-3 days. The remainder of the time (20-25 days) will be spent hauling away debris.

One thing you may not know – after the building is down we will be removing an underground storage tank from the site. This tank was abandoned and filled (with concrete) as required by the EPA many years ago. It was used to store heating oil. Soil samples of the site are being monitored, and if there has been any contamination of the surrounding soil, it will be removed and replaced with clean fill dirt. This type of tank abandonment was common at the time and this is nothing extraordinary, nor should it pose any sort of hazard to the campus community. Be assured that we are being extremely diligent in our efforts to remove it safely and keeping a very close watch on what, if any, effects this tank and its contents may have had on the surrounding soils.

With regards to the demolition of the building itself; we realize that this is going to be the noisiest and dirtiest project to date and with its close proximity to other buildings we have tried to set a few things in place to mitigate concerns and alleviate some of the stress:

· We have contracted with an Environmental Health and Safety company to monitor air quality on site during the demolition. There will be 3 air monitoring devices and an environmental technician on site during the entire project. They will be watching respirable dust levels and can help the contractor monitor their efforts to keep those down to a minimum.

· We have purchased several portable air “scrubbers” or filters for those in the area who feel the air in their building/office is too dusty due to construction. Some have already been distributed.

· We have set up 3 temporary computer stations in the Plan Room (#209) at FSB for anyone who is being effected by noise or vibration. For those with laptops, wireless access is also available in this building and several others on campus, contact Tom Jacobs for more info.

· We will also be reorienting the webcam so that you can watch the demo progress, that link is http://www.olympic.edu/directory/camcsc.htm . This site takes a moment to come up, so please be patient.

I hope this answers a lot of your questions but if not, please give me a call or send me an e-mail. Also, If you have any other viable ideas on how to lower the Demo Distress level, please let me know. (Keep in mind.. I said “viable” ideas J)

Thank-you for your patience, your positive attitude and your time.

(NOTE: When I say “We” on the bullet items, I really mean our crew here in Facilities, IT and the Communications department. Thank-you for all of your help in getting these things set up. It is a pleasure to work with all of you!)

Posted October 11, 2007

Due to the re-striping of 16^th and Chester per the City of Bremerton in preparation for Humanities construction, we are experiencing several potentially hazardous situations on those roads.

People are still stopping in the lanes to drop off/pick-up students and this is causing back-ups and near misses. Drivers are not following the lane changes and again, we are having a few close calls each day. Remember, these are City owned roads and drivers are subject to the same rules/regulations and potential moving and parking violations as any other City street.

PLEASE help us inform the students that the only drop off area on that road is the corner at 16^th & Chester, Eastbound, next to the red curb. All other parking and stopping on those lanes is no longer allowed. We would like to encourage people to use the entrances at 13^th & Chester (in front of the FSB), 15^th & Lincoln (the SW corner of Humanities, South side of Theater) or 15^th & Broadway (behind the BSC) for drop off and pick up of students.

I know that adjusting to change can take time, I would just like to try and keep people safe during the process. Anything you can do to help spread the word is appreciated.

Posted September 25, 2007

Due to the construction fencing that will be put in place for the new Humanities building, we are being asked by the City of Bremerton to make some traffic revisions to 16^th St. and Chester Avenue. Making these revisions will allow us to maintain two-way traffic along Chester during construction. This will benefit our students and be much appreciated by the residents north of the College. Unfortunately these changes will result in the loss of street parking along both roadways, including the new street parking next to Sci-Tech.

On Saturday, October 6^th (weather permitting) we will begin re-striping the road from 16^th and Broadway, West to Chester Ave, and along Chester, North to 17^th (past the student lot). Between now and then, our Grounds crew will begin installing a multitude of signs along that route that will remain covered until the striping is done. After the striping is complete, the fence goes up and the signs are uncovered.

I know that this is going to be a frustration for several of you and we apologize for the inconvenience.

Please do not hesitate to give me a call if you have any questions.

Posted September 1, 2007

The Good News:

· The Facilities Services data room cooling project is complete and the servers located there are enjoying the consistently cool temperatures. Design work is under way to do the same for the B-100 data room.

· The OC Shelton HVAC project is complete and staff were able to move back into their office spaces on Monday 8/27.

· The CSC bathroom project is complete with the exception of some new light fixtures that we have been waiting on; should happen within the next 7 days. When our contractor comes back to install those he will replace some chipped tiles and address a few other small issues, but otherwise they are functioning beautifully.

· The Playground project will be completed next week and the licensing inspector will be onsite Thursday, 8/30. The kids could be on their new playground as early as that afternoon! Check out the playground next week – it is really beautiful.

· The Bremer Student project is going well and will be completed in plenty of time for Opening Days. A side note – we were able to get some HVAC modifications done for the Security Office at the same time so they might be breathing a little easier now.

· OC Poulsbo construction has had some challenges, but seems to be moving along well. With the help and cooperation of some amazing staff, the contractor is on-time. The initial phase will be done just prior to the beginning of Fall quarter and the Student Services area will be done in December. It is an ambitious project.

· The abatement of the Math-Science building has been completed.

· The Sci-Tech building is nearing the end of its punch list and the art work Is scheduled to be installed.

Okay, for those of you still reading – here is the Bad News…

With the asbestos abatement completed on the old Math-Sci, the Gate II sculpture relocated and plans to remove the mural in place, we have begun work on the Early Utilities project:

· This project will take the Math-Sci building off-line from all utilities and begin to set in place the infrastructure needed for the new Humanities building. For lack of a better term, this project is going to be “messy”. It involves lots of digging and relocating utilities. Although we have done everything in our power to locate what is underground, we do not have solid historical utility data for that area and there could be some surprises. Again, we have done everything we can to minimize issues during the ‘discovery’ phase of this project and if all goes just as planned, the only disruption to the campus at this point will be some noise and dust. You will notice digging around all sides of the building and some behind the PE building as we get ready to transfer over the QWEST line. There will also be some digging in front of the HO building as we upgrade the sewer and water lines to that building and the University Quad.

o Towards the end of this project the contractor will begin setting up the temporary/permanent fencing that will be the construction site for the new Humanities building. This fencing, like the one for Sci-Tech will extend into the street and will be with us for about 2 years.

o Once the fence is up, demo of the old building will begin.

o Then, on to Humanities construction and Campus Entry Phase I….

Besides all of that, Facilities staff are working on a myriad of projects that include painting, signage improvements at OC Shelton and Poulsbo and many other modifications and maintenance related issues. It is a busy Summer !

There are some exciting things going on, but these changes do not happen without some disruption and inconvenience to the campuses. We are so grateful for the supportive attitude and the flexibility of the OC community in dealing with all of this ~ Thank-You !

If you have any questions or concerns regarding any of these capital projects, please do not hesitate to contact myself or Bill Wilkie directly. If you have questions on any of the maintenance items I mentioned, please contact Samantha Powers @ 7811.

Posted 8/31/2007

        
        After a lot of preparation, the mural has been saved and moved.   As you can see from the pictures below, the preparation consisted of separating the wall, setting up support beams, and carefully sawing into thirds.  Hooks were set up on each third in grout points so as to protect the integrity of the mural.  
        On the day of moving, August 31st, the hooks were used to hoist the first third away from the rest of the mural.  The mural was then laid on its side and put onto the back of the truck.  This process took about two hours, and the second third was started immediately after that.  It is currently being temporarily stored until a permanent place for it is decided.  
        As always, thank you for your patience and support in this matter.   

  
 

Posted 5/24/2006

Weather permitting; the Science-Tech contractor will be pouring large batches of concrete on June 2 & 13th. Each pour will start at 7:00am with a cement truck every 15 minutes thereafter. Each pour will last approximately 3-4 hours. The contractor will be placing a cement pumping truck inside his fencing in front of the Library building across from the smoking shelter. The cement trucks will be staged along 16^th avenue inside the fenced area but will be using the Chester & 16^th corner to maneuver to and from the pump truck. Throughout the morning, as each empty truck leaves and a new one arrives, the contractor will have flaggers stopping traffic and detouring pedestrians.

As a point of interest, the pour on June 2^nd is 350 cubic yards of concrete making it the largest single pour to date.

Pop Quiz:

Approximately how many lineal feet of 4” thick by 3’ wide sidewalk could be poured with 350 cubic yards of concrete?

The first person emailing me back the correct answer (within 100’ plus or minus) wins an Olympic College “Safety First” T-shirt compliments of Facilities Services.

Please post this or pass along to students and staff who may not otherwise receive this notice.

As always, thanks for your patience and good luck on the quiz.

Posted 4/26/2006

The Science-Tech contractor will be pouring large batches of concrete on May 3, 8, & 12. Each pour will start at 7:00am with a cement truck every 15 minutes thereafter. Each pour will last approximately 3 hours. The contractor will be placing a cement pumping truck inside his fencing in front of the Library building across from the smoking shelter. The cement trucks will be staged along 16^th avenue inside the fenced area but will be using the Chester & 16^th corner to maneuver to and from the pump truck. Throughout the morning, as each empty truck leaves and a new one arrives, the contractor will have flaggers stopping traffic and detouring pedestrians.

As a side note, both the Science-Tech and the Bookstore/Student Center projects are on schedule and within budget.

As usual… we are making noise, causing detours, impacting your parking, breaking waterlines, killing the power and generally making your lives miserable… all in the name of progress. Just keep in mind… it will all be over soon. Okay… so as soon as Science Tech is done we will start on Humanities… but after THAT it will be over. Well except for the old Humanities demolition and the new parking structure it will be done.

Please post this or pass along to students and staff who may not otherwise receive this notice.

As always, thanks for your patience.

Posted 2/6/06

Regarding the geopier installation today...

The Geopiers are installed with a moderate size hydraulic hammer that would typically be used to break up concrete. The noise is a typical construction jobsite noise, but it is loud. At the source the noise level is about 100 decibels. We will use a noise blanket or jacket on the hammer. The noise is loud on the jobsite and will definitely be heard in the library and throughout much of the campus. However, the noise dissipates with distance and should not be very disturbing. In the bookstore building, the noise will be disturbing on the other site of the wall from the work area.

Vibration should not be a problem. The vibration is evident at the impact location but dissipates rapidly with distance. At only 5 to 10 feet from the impact point the vibration is greatly reduced and minimal. At 50 feet it would not be noticeable. On the Science and Tech site, the vibrations are not an issue. At the bookstore vibrations may be felt in the building during installation of only several of the Geopiers that are immediately adjacent to the building. These Geopiers will be constructed quickly and should not be a problem. We can install these piers at a specified time if desired.

We do not expect that the work will cause any disturbance or adverse effect on the landscape. The only potential impact would be the destruction of roots during drilling. Unless the landscape is located very close to the Geopier locations, this should not be an issue.

Posted 2/1/06

The Geopier installation scheduled to begin this week has been postponed until February 6^th; the Geopier contractor is finishing up a project in Utah. In addition, in response to our concern over the noise issue and after consulting with an acoustician, the General Contractor and the Geopier sub-contractor had a custom made sound absorbing blanket manufactured to fit over the “head” of the ram driver. This will not eliminate the noise, but it will mitigate it to the extent possible.

This Saturday, February 4^th there will be a total power outage in the Library and PE building. This outage is required as part of the Science-Tech project and has been scheduled on Saturday to minimize the disruption to normal campus activity.

Facilities Services personnel will work with the general contractor and the high voltage specialist and power will be restored by Saturday afternoon.

Posted 1/27/06 

The Science-Tech contractor unearthed some asbestos containing building material; about 200’ of abandoned cement asbestos water pipe. In its present form, it does not pose a health hazard however it does meet the minimum criteria to require a permit for abatement.

The abatement will be done by Correctional Industries and will start on February 8^th.

Posted 1/26/06

I have good news and bad news…

The bad news is both the contractor for the Bookstore and the contractor for the Science-Tech building will be installing “Geopier Rammed Aggregate Piers” beginning the February 1^st or 2nd.

What is a Geopier Rammed Aggregate Pier?

A Geopier Rammed Aggregate Pier is a stiff and highly densified inclusion of rammed crushed aggregate that is installed by drilling a 24-inch to 36-inch diameter hole and ramming thin lifts of well-graded aggregate within the hole. The drilled holes typically extend 10 to 25 feet below grade and 7 to 20 feet below footing bottoms. The first lift of aggregate forms a bulb below the bottoms of the piers, thereby pre-stressing and pre-straining the soils to a depth equal to at least one pier diameter below drill depths. Subsequent lifts are typically about 12 inches in thickness. Ramming takes place with a high-energy beveled tamper that both densifies the aggregate and forces the aggregate laterally into the sidewalls of the hole. This action increases the lateral stress in surrounding soil, thereby further stiffening the stabilized composite soil mass.

If you want more information regarding Geopiers, visit http://www.geopiers.com/index.asp?id=11

The “ramming” process is loud and obnoxious and, if all goes as planned, will last 3-4 days. We are limited in our ability to mitigate the disruptions from this type of activity. We are presently working with the contractors to install sound blankets in an attempt to drive the noise up rather than out and have requested they concentrate their activities into the shortest duration possible. To that end, the Geopier installer will work both sites simultaneously.

The good news? The good news is that once this activity is complete we will have the worst part behind us. That’s not to say there will not be any more disruptive activities, but this is by far the worst.

And remember… we are making noise, causing detours, impacting your parking, breaking waterlines, killing the power and generally making your lives miserable… all in the name of progress.

Please post this or pass along to students and staff who may not otherwise receive this notice.

             As always, thanks for your patience.

Posted 1/24/06

A new detour…

Due to construction requirements the contractor for Science-Tech needs to extend the current fence line. It will now encompass the portion of sidewalk that people have been using to get from the main entrance at 16th & Chester to the Humanities building.

In order to compensate for this loss of sidewalk they are going to put in a temporary asphalt walkway. However, in order to accomplish that they need to extend the current fence line out even further, requiring people to use the sidewalk in front of the Haselwood Library. This is for ONE DAY ONLY, tomorrow, January 25th. The new walkway should be ready for use on Thursday.

Posted 1/18/06

The good news is that they are almost through with the demo of the bookstore; the noisiest part of that work should be completed by tomorrow afternoon. There might be some occasional loud noises throughout the construction, but these should be intermittent and on a much smaller scale.

More about those occasional loud noises…..

The contractor will mobilize on the 1st of February and begin installing geopiers on the 2nd or 3rd. This requires a pile driving machine but will only be a one day process once they begin. We are doing everything we can to minimize the noise, including installation of sound blankets. We will also send out a reminder to ALL the day before they actually begin setting the piers.

We are VERY aware that all of this construction is having an effect on students, staff and faculty and cannot emphasize enough how much we appreciate your tolerance and understanding.