Half of the $10 million park bond passed by voters in November is set aside to restore the aging Julius Boehm Pool in Issaquah.
But instead of the customary design, bid, build methodology, the City Council approved an interagency agreement with the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services to renovate the pool under a performance contract, at the April 21 regular meeting.
Under the agreement, DES furnishes the personnel and services to do the work. The department has 13 contractors they work with said Todd Flynn, an engineer with DES who will be the project manager.
Parks Manager Ric Patterson said the city will save money on staff time to review all the requests for qualification — 2,500 pages — that DES has already reviewed. He wouldn’t throw out a specific number, but Flynn said the savings is 20-25 percent.
The majority of the savings comes in energy performance, Flynn said. Windows, insulation values, heat recovery components, operational changes and water savings are just a few of the systems the DES will examine. Flynn said typically they do retrofits, not new construction, with the goal of energy savings. DES has done a pool before — Julius Boehm is over 40-years-old.
“Hopefully we’re here to provide oversight — be the advocate for the city,” Flynn said.
Patterson said the next step for the city is to interview the 13 contractors that have been vetted by DES. If one is selected, the contractor must then perform an investment-grade audit where measurements are taken to determine how much energy the pool is using. That will give the contractor and engineers a guideline to seek new technology to make the facility more energy efficient.
If the city is not happy with any of the contractors, they still must pay for the audit, and continue to a design, bid, build scenario.
The $5 million budget is controlled by the city and includes a contingency fund. “Obviously,” Flynn said, “DES intends to stay within the budget.” The program has been around since 1986, but it was called General Administration, which incorporated several agencies.
The city also gets a performance guaranty — no surprises. Change orders would be limited to items such as the new pool liner and deck surfacing.
