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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, September 16, 2010 47J Board picks their contractor The Vernonia School Board of Directors, at their Septem- ber 9 meeting, were given the school year’s initial student en- rollment numbers. There are currently 46 freshmen, 45 sophomores, 57 juniors and 54 seniors, for a total of 202 high school students. Included in this year’s numbers are 10 for- eign exchange students from seven different countries. The grade schools (Washington and Mist) have a combined en- rollment of 255 students and there are 146 middle school students. Board member Ernie Smith told the board that the selec- tion committee for the Con- struction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) Contract had four really good compa- nies to choose from and that P&C Construction did a “fan- tastic job, not only on pricing,” See Board on page 20 Is there room in your home and life for Jason? Page 11 Chalk Talk Chalk Talk is a column of information about Vernonia schools. This col- umn was provided by Superintendent Ken Cox. Another step in the right direction! Last Thursday evening the Vernonia School Board acted on the recommendation of the Facilities/Evaluation Committee to author- ize the district to negotiate a Construction Manager/ General Con- tractor (CM/GC) Contract with P&C Construction. My first topic of conversation with Steve Anderson, President of P&C, right after the board meeting was local contractor involvement in the con- struction. We had a couple of town hall meetings last fall in which we col- lected the names and addresses of local workers and contractors, regardless of size. (If you aren’t sure if your name or your compa- ny’s name made it on the list stop by the office and we will give you another chance to sign up.) We tried to model some of what we did after the general contractor that was building the new school in Scappoose, because we heard they had done a great job in reaching out to the local community. That contractor was P&C Construction. When Steve Anderson and I meet this week, I will share with him the list of contractors that we have already developed. Last Friday, Steve indicated in an email that he already has a number of ideas on how to involve local contractors and the community in the construction. When we selected P&C, we did not follow the typical CM/GC selection process. Rather than just ask contractors for their quali- fications and fee structure, we asked that they take the project that we have designed so far and price it out with actual sub-contrac- tor quotes. In order to use their expertise in cost-cutting we asked them to present us with Alternative Technical Concepts (ATCs) that would potentially reduce the price. (One ATC example was to replace radi- ant floor heating with more typical roof mounted HVAC system and another was to use concrete tilt-up construction.) Of the four companies that submitted proposals, P&C was the company that presented the most ATCs that were considered acceptable to the evaluation committee, with potential savings to the district of over two million dollars. But we didn’t stop there. We asked P&C to go back to their subcontrac- tors and sharpen their pencils once again, after we told them which ATCs we would accept, and present us with a ‘best and fi- nal offer’ for the entire project, up front. They did and came back with an even lower price. We do not have a signed contract yet, but we are working dili- gently with P&C to get one soon. In the meantime you can rest as- sured that we will be reaching out to the local community in many ways. We are waiting on the completion of the FEMA paperwork before we establish another public comment meeting on the Envi- ronmental Assessment portion of the project. I have been and will continue to do my best to look out for Ver- nonia, to provide the best new school possible, at the best price, and involve as much of the community and local labor force as is legally possible. You have my word on it! The next Town Hall meeting on the new schools project will be September 28, at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria (green building). Please join us. All Fares – One Way General Public $4.80 Seniors 60 and over, Children under age 10 Disabled & Students $3.80 Tickets and monthly passes can be purchased through transit personnel or by calling: 503-429-4304 www.columbiacountyrider.com Clip & keep schedule Fixed Route Runs Monday thru Friday Leaving From: Depart AM Depart Mid Day Depart PM Vernonia City Hall 6:15 AM 12:30 PM 4:30 PM A Family for Every Child is happy to introduce a wonderful little boy named Jason. Jason is looking for a permanent family. Jason, aged 6, is a delight to be around. He is respectful, happy, and pleasant most of the time. He tends to get nerv- ous around people he doesn’t know, but can easily warm up to new faces. Jason loves video games, trucks, hot wheels, camping, fishing, hunt- ing, mud bogging, and just be- ing outdoors in general. Jason is eager to share his toys and See Jason on page 20 Stub Stewart State Park 6:35 AM 12:50 PM 4:50 PM Staley’s Junction 6:42 AM 12:57 PM 4:57 PM Tri-Met’s Willow Creek Station 7:15 AM 1:30 PM 5:30 PM Staley’s Junction 7:48 AM 2:00 PM 6:00 PM Stub Stewart State Park 7:55 AM 2:10 PM 6:10 PM Vernonia City Hall 8:10 AM (Arrival) 2:25 PM 6:25 PM