SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016
7 A
More photos from
Power of Florence
from 1A
July 16, 2016
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER & JACK DAVIS/SIUSLAW NEWS
Council
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Andy Baber, AAMS®
from 1A
Ruede added, “The dedica-
tion of this couple to make sure
our citizens are treated fairly
and in compliance with state,
federal and local laws, rules
and regulations has helped to
City
from 1A
into modular units while the
maintenance building was con-
structed. A permanent office
structure would be completed
in Phase II as funds allowed.
According to the staff report,
Scott/Edwards Architecture
(S/EA) outlined the potential
cost savings of combining
Phase I and Phase II based on
economies of scale. The archi-
tect and city staff realized they
could save $800,000 by com-
bining the two phases, with
another $100,000 saved from
the use of modular buildings
and inflation.
City Manager Erin Reynolds
School
from 1A
In May, district voters nar-
rowly defeated a $36.9 million
bond measure to build a new
high school to replace the cur-
rent 46-year-old campus.
“The biggest immediate
challenge is getting the mes-
sage out again and getting the
community informed about the
high school bond,”
Grzeskowiak said. “We really
got rushed into the process this
last spring. We got lucky and
got into the draw (for $4 mil-
lion in state grant money) and
we basically compressed what
is normally a 12- to 18-month
process into about 12 weeks.”
According to Grzeskowiak,
the shortened bond process
didn’t give the district a
chance to thoroughly inform
the community of all the rea-
sons why new construction
made more sense than exten-
sive remodeling, or worse, just
doing nothing. He said the
administration has been inter-
nally talking about the need
for a new, code compliant
make Dunes City ‘A Nice
Place to Live.’”
Judy Martin accepted the
recognition plaque on behalf of
both her and her husband, who
was unable to attend.
In other business, the council
voted to approve Resolution
Series 2016, No. 10, to refer to
the voters a proposed 3 percent
city tax on the retail sales of
recreational marijuana sold
within the city limits.
The resolution will be placed
on the Nov. 8 General Election
ballot.
The council also announced
that the second annual Dunes
City Community Expo will be
held Saturday, Aug. 20, from
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at City Hall.
In addition to experts and
demonstrations, State Sen.
Arnie Roblan and State Rep.
Caddy McKeown plan to
attend. Refreshments and food
will be served.
needed the council to approve
changes to S/EA’s contract.
“I ask for affirmation that
you want us to move in this
direction of an expanded Phase
I that includes the administra-
tion building,” Reynolds said.
The council voted to
approve the architectural serv-
ices contract update.
Mayor Joe Henry said, “We
started out with a $6.5 million
building, and I think that
(Public Works Director) Mike
Miller, staff, Erin and every-
body have done a great job of
keeping it to a $3.5 million
building. You saved millions.”
S/EA’s new Phase I will
include continued research into
the site and city codes; the
design of schematics, including
site plan, floor plans, exterior
elevations, interior and exterior
renderings, building systems
and draft specifications; and
the creation of construction
documents for bidding, permit-
ting and construction. S/EA
will also assist with the permit-
ting and bidding processes.
The revised agreement with
S/EA includes architectural
services for both buildings and
totals approximately $302,000.
The city’s budget for the
Public Works Operations
Facility includes a total project
cost of $3.5 million. The proj-
ect cost $175,000 in fiscal year
2015-16, and $3.325 million is
budgeted for 2016-17.
Messmer said, “Our plan is to
work through design and engi-
neering in August and begin
working with the Planning
Department in the process. ... Our
goal is to be moved in by June 30
of next year.”
Once the office building is
complete, Florence’s Public
Works and Planning and
Building Departments will
move in.
“We will have the best of what
we need in the city,” Reynolds
said of the new facility.
At this point, there is no
timeline for the clearing of the
current Public Works facility,
989 Spruce St., though the city
plans eventually to revert the
property into a city park.
building for almost five years.
“I’m not out to scare any-
body with ‘if we have an
earthquake everything is going
to fall down,’” Grzeskowiak
said. “You can’t predict an
earthquake, but if we make
modifications to the building
we fall into current code com-
pliance and then we do have to
make everything compliant.
We could end up spending an
exorbitant amount of money
and still not address space,
safety or technology needs.
“People kept talking about
earthquakes,” he continued. “It
is about code compliance.
Once you open a wall, its not
just earthquake code, its
Americans with Disabilities
Act compliance, it’s about
asbestos removal. The high
school was built in the late
’60s and opened in the early
’70s, so there is asbestos in the
building. It is all currently
sealed, but as soon as you start
digging into a wall and work-
ing with conduits, then all of a
sudden you have an issue.”
Grzeskowiak said he plans
to have a revised bond time-
line to present to the school
board during the July 27 meet-
ing.
His other priority is improv-
ing attendance and increasing
the high school’s graduation
rate.
“Kids that are typically strug-
gling to graduate are kids that
are missing a lot of school, and
they have been missing a lot of
school since kindergarten, first-
grade and second-grade,”
Grzeskowiak said.
He said students who miss
10 to 12 days a year have a 20
percent less chance of graduat-
ing. They also miss a total of
1.5 years of school by the time
they are seniors.
“One-time events like fami-
ly reunions don’t hurt kids,”
Grzeskowiak said. “But if
every other Friday a kid just
takes off because they can,
that impacts the student’s
chances of graduating.
“If you have done 10.5
years of school while everyone
else has done 12, having trou-
ble graduating shouldn’t be a
surprise to anybody,” he
added.
Grzeskowiak wants parents
to be informed of the state
guidelines for keeping students
home for illness.
“If you have had a fever in
the last 24 hours, if you have
had diarrhea in the past 24
hours or if you have vomited
within the past 24 hours, don’t
come to school. Otherwise,
come to school. That’s the
message we want to get out,”
Grzeskowiak said.
The school has several
after-school resources avail-
able for students and parents
who are in need of tutoring or
extra homework time.
“Twilight, on all levels, has
a strong homework component
with certified teachers,”
Grzeskowiak said. “The Boys
and Girls Club has done a
tremendous job this year with
their onsite tutoring. Being at
the middle school, I’ve had a
lot of kids talk about how
much help they get going to
the Boys and Girls Club Teen
Center.”
Grzeskowiak said several
church groups also offer after-
school programs with tutoring.
“Specifically I think the
Boys and Girls Club has done
a very good job. They have
really turned things around
this year with their teen pro-
gram. Their numbers are up
and the middle school kids are
excited about going.”
Grzeskowiak credits the
school staff and administrative
team with turning around the
decline in graduation rates.
“They are going above and
beyond the call, trying to get
kids re-engaged with school,”
he said.
With his extensive back-
ground in the district,
Grzeskowiak may be better
suited than anyone to lead the
district through the challenges
of the coming years.
“In three to five years, I’m
hoping that we are having this
conversation in the commons of
the new high school talking
about the positive changes that
have happened with the expand-
ed opportunities for kids and the
positive turnaround in gradua-
tion rates,” he said.
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