PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles School District is moving ahead on demolition of the shuttered Monroe School property.
Board members approved Thursday the Monroe Elementary School Demolition Project Design and Management proposal presented by Nolan Duce, director of maintenance and facilities, and submitted by PBS Engineering and Environmental Inc.
Susan Shotthafer abstained from the vote, with the project approved by board members Cindy Kelly, Sarah Methner, Joshua Jones and Sandy Long.
The action was one of several involving school facilities. Among them was approving a new Realtor, Port Angeles Realty, to list the Fairview Elementary School site for sale.
“During our recent strategic planning sessions, the state of our facilities was one of the top concerns with participants,” said district Superintendent Marc Jackson.
“The board will be reviewing input by students, parents, community members and our partners at a study session on Thursday.”
The meeting, which is open to the public, will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Central Services Building, 216 E. Fourth St.
The building at the former Monroe School at 106 Monroe Road, which was closed in June 2004, “has become a safety issue,” Duce said.
“The building is 41,760 square feet and originally built in 1949,” Duce said. “Common building materials used back then were asbestos and lead-based paint. There is also an underground fuel tank for the boiler.”
The PBS project estimate is $118,560 and includes investigation period services ($35,852), design period services ($41,920) and construction period services ($40,788).
Duce estimated the investigation stage will begin immediately. The demolition will be bid on publicly at a later date. Costs will be covered by the capital improvements fund.
PBS’s proposed services and fees are to demolish most of the structures on the site of the former Monroe Elementary School.
Services included are building and site surveys for the presence of regulated/hazardous materials and underground fuel storage tank; abatement, demolition and site stabilization design document development; permitting; bid specification and drawings; bid period assistance; and construction period services, including abatement monitoring, site inspection, closure assistance and project closeout.
District officials intend to retain the portable building, shed, playground, water, power, septic and asphalt paving associated with the portable, as well as trees not impacted by the demolition.
The Fairview site had been relisted for sale in April 2015 after a Carlsborg man who intended to create a marijuana-growing and processing facility at the site east of Port Angeles withdrew his offer to purchase the building and its 9.4 acres.
Kurt Jafay pulled out of a $814,000 purchase-and-sale agreement after the school board declined to extend a May 31 feasibility study on the property at 166 Lake Farm Road while he addressed a court challenge against approval of a conditional use permit for the site.
The listing with Torres Real Estate expired Dec. 31.
The school was closed in 1997 because of declining enrollment.
Other action on facilities taken Thursday included approval of the $14,506 Franklin Elementary flooring project, the $14,629 Roosevelt Elementary carpet finish project and the $62,192 Stevens Middle School carpet replacement project.
“Facilities will be a major focus of our strategic plan,” Jackson said. “I’m thankful we can begin to do some of the work now.”
These projects will be paid from the capital improvement fund and will occur during the upcoming summer months.
Board members also on Thursday transferred $840,000 in state forest revenue from the debt service fund to the capital projects fund.
As of Jan. 31, the district has a balance of $853,587 in its debt service fund, David Knechtel, business and operations director, told the board March 9.
The amount includes state forest land revenues and not money derived from another source, he said.
The funds are not needed to pay debt service on outstanding district bonds because the district paid off its remaining bonds on Jefferson and Dry Creek elementary schools at the end of December 2015, officials said.
Questions and comments can be directed by email to info@portangeles schools.org or sent to Jackson at the Port Angeles School District, 216 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles, WA 98362.
