Construction begins at C.K.

A much-needed new gymnasium and cafeteria are going up at C.K. Price Middle School.

Principal Theresa Johansen said people have told her they played in the same gym when they attended the school as their grandchildren do now.

She said she and others at the fifth- to eighth-grade school were excited when the construction crew and equipment showed up four weeks ago.

"It was fascinating to see how much they did in one day," she said. "I'm very proud of our dirt."

The buildings and a parking lot will face South Street on the Marin Street side.

The first step in the construction, now complete, was developing a "pad" of compact soil to hold the building's foundations and footings, said Chris von Kleist, Orland Unified School District superintendent, who is overseeing the project.

It took some time to get the pad ready, because as far down as 4 feet the soil was too wet, the result of flood irrigation, von Kleist said. He explained that crews dug up the dirt in sections and spread it out to dry before moving it back and packing it. No extra dirt was brought in.

Another option was lime treatment, he said. However, even though moving the dirt was more labor intensive, it was "cheaper."

Project manager Zane Schreder did not seem fazed by the issue.

"Wet soil is all part of construction." he said. Overall, "it's going good."

The foundation should be ready in mid-December, then the framing will start. The new building — housing the gym, cafeteria and kitchen — as well as a new parking lot are scheduled to be ready for the opening of school next August.

The building is the first phase in a longer-term project that will eliminate modular structures no longer safe for classrooms. They are used for as office space now.

"Some modular units are 40-50 years old," von Kleist said.

The interim plan, he said, is to make the old cafeteria into two classrooms while the modular units are demolished. Once that is done, the play area will be expanded and a new two-story structure will be built.

It will contain 11 classrooms, a science lab and the school's library media center. In addition, all the landscaping will be restored.

Choosing a contractor

Contractor R and R Horn Inc. — the company that built the Orland High School stadium, tennis courts and agricultural facility — was chosen through a "lease-lease back" process, von Kleist explained.

This legal option has benefits over an open bid process in several ways, officials said.

First, it is more collaborative, meaning the contractor, subcontractors, architects and administration work together on the project all the way through, von Kleist said.

It also results in a set price that does not carry the risk of major overruns that frequently occur when a low bid is accepted. In the bid process, there can be a 20 percent or more increase in cost just in change orders, von Kleist said.

"The district can control the cost better," he said, noting that the contract even includes how much profit will be made by the contractor. "(And) unexpected issues get resolved as a group."

Fourteen companies provided the requirements for qualification, then a committee picked four to interview.

Based in Chico, R and R Horn was chosen, in part, because of the previous experience with the school district, but also because several of the crew live in Orland and Vice President Quinn Hogan is a 1990 graduate of Orland High.

"We want to give all the work we can to Orland," von Kleist said.

Another reason the construction company got the nod is because "R and R is big enough to have all the equipment for the job. And they're fast," von Kleist noted.

The contractor "is not just building for now. He's building for 10 or 20 years out," von Kleist said. "He is a real strategic thinker in terms of looking at how all the schools are interacting."

Project funding

The multi-funded project is "not to exceed $3.75 million," von Kleist said.

About $1 million comes from Measure K money, he said. The bond issue, passed in November 2006, provides funding to improve health and safety in California schools, in part, by repairing or replacing buildings and equipment, upgrading classrooms.

Because the money goes into a bond-building fund, the state cannot use Measure K money for anything other than school building-related expenditures.

Von Kleist said the district also is "asking the state for modernization/new construction money."

Orland Unified Business Manager Laura Holderfield was not available to provide specific information.

Orland Unified was granted $1.2 million in deferred hardship money, though only one installment has been received so far, von Kleist.

So far, the money has replaced heating and air conditioning systems at Mill Street Elementary and Orland High schools.

"We saved enough to pay for removal of the gym floor and put up a new fence around Mill Street," von Kleist said, adding that the saving also is allowing upgrades at the district office.

He said that project includes retrofitting the heating and air conditioning system, installing double-paned windows, adding insulation, fixing the bus parking lot and adding walls inside, "two better use the space."

Contact Lydia Harris at 934-6800 or lharris@tcnpress.com.