Issaquah School board approves contractor for Skyline
July 15, 2008
By Chantelle Lusebrink
Issaquah school board members have unanimously approved awarding Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane, a $29.8 million contract to complete the remodel and expansion at Skyline High School.
Lydig, who also operates a firm in Seattle, was the lowest of six contractors who bid. The bids were between $27.29 million and $29.97 million.
The final price awarded to the construction company was roughly $27.4 million to get the job done.
The remaining $2.4 million awarded in the contract covers state taxes.
Lydig, of Seattle, has expressed interest in the Issaquah High School project, according to district officials.
The Issaquah High School site is being worked on to reconfigure the building.
Portable classrooms arrived last week and were placed at the north side of the building and on the field at Clark Elementary School, said Steve Crawford, director of capital projects for the district.
District officials have obtained a city permit for that work and to house students there during the year.
In mid-June, an interim construction firm began work to reconfigure classrooms, hallways, locker areas and facilities to accommodate the first phase of construction.
Classroom walls have been knocked out to create a large eating area for students next year and several more were knocked out to create a temporary home for the music department until the performing arts wing is completed in Phase II.
Outdoor locker bays have been enclosed to create locker rooms for physical education classes.
District and city officials are working through remaining permit details for the site. Those should move on for City Council approval at the end of August, said Christopher Wright, with the city’s planning department.
Building and demolition permits have not yet been obtained.
However, the demolition permit should be turned in next month, so demolition can begin in September, Crawford said. Building permits should follow.
There is a slight disagreement between Mahlum Architects, who work for the district, and the city’s Building Department regarding a definition of a specific code related to stairwells from the academic wings to the commons, officials from the district and city said.
Both sides agreed to obtain an interpretation from the International Code Council to resolve the issue, said John Minato, the city’s building director.
Depending on the outcome, architects may have to come up with another solution, which they are working on, Crawford said.
The interpretation should be received in the next few weeks.
District officials are still determining what process to use to select a contractor for the project but a contractor should be selected by the end of August, Crawford said.
At the July 9 school board meeting, member Mike Winkler asked whether the projects at Issaquah and Skyline would be complete enough to convert Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus into a middle school and move the freshmen into the two high schools by the September 2009 deadline.
“We’re still within the realm of possibility and feasibility,” Crawford said. “A large part of that depends on the contractors, the scale of the contractor and the subcontractors involved. We have a large contractor at Skyline and they may roll some of the Phase II construction into Phase I to get it done faster.
“We know that Issaquah High School is also going to be a big contractor, so they may be able to do it since the three classroom wings are essentially the same,” he added. “There is a real economy of materials and building work there.”
At what point board members will have to make a decision about the conversion of Pacific Cascade is something he said he doesn’t know. But there will be points throughout the next year when district officials can monitor construction progress and determine whether new decisions need to be made.
Construction on the Issaquah Middle School bus loop, approved in 1999, is also under way and will be done by the start of school, Crawford said.
Reach Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com.
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