The Hermiston School District Board voted unanimously to approve construction of the $5 million Kennison Field renovation project and gave the go-ahead for work to begin.
The project’s general contractor is P And C Construction and will involve several local subcontractors, according to Deputy Superintendent Wade Smith.
“Over the coming days, we will be calling a number of local subcontractors and informing them that they have landed significant portions of the work as the low bidders,” said Smith.
The board’s approval comes just weeks after the district announced it had filled a $700,000
funding gap.
The renovation project consists of an estimated $4.3 million in project construction costs, a 5-percent contingency allowance, a 7- percent general conditions and fees budget, and pre-established 3- percent contractor’s fee for the project.
“We were grateful to see that our local subcontractors really sharpened their pencils to ensure we came in close to our original $4.1 million budget estimate,” said Smith. He said that despite some additional design features added over the last few months as a result of stakeholder input and a handful of code-related and civil cost additions, bid estimates varied less than 5 percent from the preliminary project budget established months earlier.
The multi-use facility will accommodate football, soccer, lacrosse and track and field, and will include advanced synthetic turf with added concussion and injury reducing measures, an IAAF certified track, elevated stadium seating, accessibility for disabled and elderly spectators, improved performance and access lighting, and assisted-listening capabilities.
“If this was any other community, I believe we would be looking at a project cost far in excess of what we are seeing,” said Smith “Our community contracting and supply pool has clearly rolled up their sleeves to cut costs everywhere they could, and it is reflected in many of their bids.”
The combination of state and federal grants, Booster Club support, and community fund-raising efforts have provided the district with just over $5.2 million in available resources. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Feb. 8 at Kennison Field.
