Renovation Update for February 2020 Chronicle by Lou MacMillan

A summary of recent renovation news shared at the parish annual meeting on February 9th. Please contact me if you have any questions.

• We’ve started Part I Construction Documents, the last design phase before bidding, for the new roof and structural improvements. We had a pre-submittal conference with the city’s plan reviewer, who found no red flags, and the Fire Marshal, who confirmed fire sprinklers will not be required.

• Our hazardous materials consultant, Advance Environmental, collected samples on February 14th. We expect to have their final report by the end of February, information that will help us sequence the work as efficiently as possible to reduce cost.

• The Vestry voted recently to delay the capital campaign until October to coincide with the annual pledge campaign, and to give us more time to fully identify and clarify the “hazmat” issues. Think of it as a strategic pause – sometimes we need to slow down to go fast. This decision means construction will not start until 2021, and we’ll spend one more year under the old roof.

• We learned the City of Olympia will implement a new building code in July 2020. This matters because our structural design is based on the version of the code now in force. We anticipate the new code will impose a more stringent set of requirements not currently considered in design. To avoid a costly redesign and probable increase in construction costs, our architect recommends obtaining a building permit, good for six months, in mid-June 2020 so that current plans and costs (as updated with hazmat survey results) remain the basis for the project. We could then pay the city to extend the permit for another six months in mid-December and begin work by June 2021.

Respectfully submitted,

Lou MacMillan

Renovation Committee Chair