Briefing No. 6 - March 18, 2011

First and foremost, we are pleased to report that Strider Construction’s crews made excellent headway this week (despite the trenches being a wee bit damp on Wednesday morning!) by completing the sewer line replacement a little ahead of schedule. One-way traffic along the Phase 1 stretch of the project resumes today. Much more trenching lies ahead – water service connections, drainage lines, the replacement water line between Ely and City Beach Streets and a joint utility trench for power and communications – before the crews turn their attention to the above-ground improvements. We will do our best to keep everyone informed and respond to problems as they arise.

Scheduled Gatherings

AM TUESDAY COFFEES Every Tuesday morning – 9:00 to 10:00 am
Pioneer Way Information and Construction Office
Have a cup, hear what’s on the schedule for that week

Revised Parking Map Available

As promised, City staff have revised the Parking Map distributed with last Friday’s Briefing to include a list of businesses by numbered location on the map. Again, we are attaching the revised map to this email but we will also maintain a stack of copies for your use at the downtown Construction Office. We thank those who have offered suggestions for improving the map!

Recent News

● Strider crews demolished the last remaining section of old sidewalk on the north side of Pioneer between City Beach and Ely Streets.

● Replacing the sewer line between Dock and Ely Streets was messy but is now completed, including replacement of the side sewers from the new main to individual businesses. Special recognition and thanks for the extra tolerance shown by several businesses whose sewer connections coincided with their front door!

● As described in Construction Alert No. 1, the sewer line replacement work resulted in a short-term detour between Dock and Ely Streets. With the completion of this part of job, this block re-opened for one-way traffic on Friday.

● Work started on Thursday afternoon to install new drainage structures and pipe in the block between Ely and City Beach Streets.

● Additional signs were added in several locations to better highlight parking. In addition, City staff created 10 “Pedestrian Access” signs to better direct customers to the front doors of businesses. These signs are portable and will be shifted around as the project needs dictate.

Looking Ahead

● Installation of new drainage infrastructure between Ely and City Beach Streets will continue and work may begin next week on installing drainage facilities between Dock and Ely Streets.

● The major push for next week will be the replacement of individual water services between Dock and Ely Streets. This effort will necessarily involve trenching across Pioneer Way but one-way traffic will continue to flow along the street. Drivers may experience brief delays when metal plates are placed to cover trenches – please drive carefully and safely.

● Unfortunately, temporary water service interruptions will occur with the service line replacement. Business owners between Dock and Ely have been contacted about the service interruptions and City staff have supplied the contractor with a list of businesses with sensitive water use needs (for example, salons and eating establishments). Every effort will be made to schedule these interruptions to avoid shutdowns during critical periods.

● Looking ahead to the weeks of March 28 and April 4, the vast majority of the work between Dock and City Beach Streets will be underground - water service connections, drainage lines, the replacement water line between Ely and City Beach Streets and a joint utility trench for power and communications.

● Finally, we have been extraordinarily grateful for the many splendid ideas, candid observations and can-do attitudes brought to this project by business owners, customers and our growing group of citizen observers. From all of us, thank you!

NOTE: Due to a long-planned commitment, Project Manager Larry Cort will be away from the office beginning Tuesday, March 22, and returning on Thursday, April 7. Please direct all questions and concerns during this period to Joe Stowell, Project Engineer.

Project Briefing No. 5 3-11-11

Good afternoon,

Well, it is safe to say that construction has started! Strider Construction’s crews were in full evidence this past week as Pioneer Way between Dock and City Beach Streets has now been stripped away to dirt. We understand that this level of disturbance is very disruptive so we have been especially grateful to those who have offered useful suggestions or initiated creative solutions on their own. Keep those ideas coming in! And, in case anyone needs reminding, Pioneer Way is open for business (day and evening!) and parking is available!

Scheduled Events

AM TUESDAY COFFEES Every Tuesday morning – 9:00 to 10:00 am

Pioneer Way Information and Construction Office

Have a cup, hear what’s on the schedule for that week

MERCHANT MEETINGS Wednesday, March 16, 2011 – 6:00 pm

Paint Your World

Thursday, March 17, 2011 – 8:00 am

Pioneer Way Information and Construction Office

Downtown Parking Map Available

Based on a number of suggestions from downtown merchants, the City has produced a map of downtown that shows available public parking, along with private parking that has been made available during construction (thanks Jill Schacht and the Collantes!).

We intend to maintain a stock of paper copies in the construction office so please feel free to drop by to pick some up. Finally, we are working on a revised version that will display the business names and address associated with each building number – available next week!

Recent News

● Paving and sidewalks were removed between City Beach and Dock Streets and one-way traffic was established through the construction zone.

● Barriers were installed on both sides of the street to separate foot traffic from vehicle traffic and to secure a safe path to the front doors of businesses.

● Street trees were heavily pruned between Dock Street and Midway Boulevard to get the branches out of the utility wires. Trees in the main construction have been removed.

● City staff welcomed a number of Pioneer Way business operators at our first weekly Tuesday morning coffee but we had leftover baked treats – please drop by to help us make sure that doesn’t happen again!

● There is no longer a traffic signal at the corner of Pioneer Way and Dock Street, the end of the line for what was one of the first, if not the first, signal location on Whidbey Island.

● Supplemental A-board signs were placed along Bayshore, Barrington and Fidalgo to direct drivers to shops and parking. These signs are portable and will likely be shifted around as the project needs dictate.

Looking Ahead

● Demolition of paving and sidewalks will continue during the first part of the week between City Beach and Ely Streets.

● Most of the major work next week will be concentrated in the block between Ely and Dock Streets. This block is scheduled to have its 10-inch sewer line replaced, with new side sewers to serve individual buildings. Because the sewer line is located in the middle of street, there will likely be closures of this block during weekdays – one-way traffic will be restored during evenings and the weekend. When closed, traffic will be detoured left on Ely Street, right on Fidalgo Street and then right on Dock Street back to Pioneer. This work will likely start on Monday and continue throughout the week.

● Unfortunately, temporary sewer service interruptions will occur with the sewer line replacement. Business owners between Dock and Ely will be contacted as soon as we know when these interruptions will happen. Every effort will be made to coordinate these interruptions according to the type of business.

● Looking ahead to the week of March 21, water service lines will be replaced between Ely and Dock Streets, along with replacement drainage pipes and structures between City Beach and Dock Streets. Again, any service interruptions to water services will be coordinated with individual properties and businesses.

● We have received good feedback on ways to supplement the directional signs to get people into and around downtown. Efforts are underway to find creative ways to build customer traffic during construction.

Update from Lesley McConnell, Communications Specialist

As construction swings into full gear, I have been out on the street meeting with merchants and business owners to identify immediate, short term and longer term interventions to help retain business activity. This week’s work involved the following:

· Liaising with media partners to identify their products, rates and promotions and ways that they can partner with the downtown to keep business strong

· Distributing flyers to invite merchants to meetings (below) and to provide contact details and a face-to-face introduction

· Updating a contact list of all merchants (ongoing) and to ensure emails are current for frequent email updates

· Planning additional signage and parking logistics

· Preparing interim maps and enhanced maps for future use

Information meetings for all local businesses are planned for 6pm, on the 16^th of March, at Paint Your World on Pioneer Way, and 8am on 17^th March at the City’s downtown office. Please join us to hear about options for the proposed communications and marketing program.

Lesley can be reached at the City’s downtown office, 720-1 Pioneer Way, throughout the project. Her official contact details are Cellphone: 360-914-7035, email: lmcconnell@oakharbor.org.

Key City Contact People

These are your go-to City staff for issues connected to the construction project:

Larry Cort Joe Stowell Lesley McConnell

Project Manager Project Engineer Communication Specialist

360 914 7107 360 279-4520 360 914-7035

lcort@oakharbor.org jstowell@oakharbor.org lmcconnell@oakbarbor.org

Other Places for Information

Pioneer Way Web Page - http://www.oakharbor.org/page.cfm?pageId=379

Pioneer Way Project Blog - http://pioneerway.blogspot.com/

Pioneer Way Art Project Blog - http://cohpioneerwayart.blogspot.com/

Construction Office Opening Soon

Anticipating the start of construction on the SE Pioneer Way project, a construction office will soon be open for business on SE Pioneer Way.

Located at 720 SE Pioneer Way (next to Casual House) the City of Oak Harbor Pioneer Way Project office will be open for regular office hours starting February 22nd. During the project there will be a weekly "Donut and Coffee Hour" held at the project office where staff will be available for questions or to just chat about the project.

An open house reception will be held on February 22, 2010 between 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm offering a chance for community members to see the office, meet key contacts with the project team and get information about the project.

An official project groundbreaking ceremony will be held on March 1 at 4:00pm for a celebration of the symbolic first shovel of dirt to be moved on the project.

City Council Approves Construction Contractor

At its meeting on February 1, 2011, the City Council selected Strider Construction out of Bellingham, WA as the general contractor for the Pioneer Way Reconstruction Project. As the lowest responsible bidder out of six firms that competed for the job, Strider’s bid amount of $3,864,363.27 will, with the exception of the City’s share for undergrounding the electrical and communication utilities, pay for re-constructing the historic street. This bid was substantially less than the engineer’s estimate of $5,101,326.92.

Strider Construction has recently completed a very similar project involving reconstruction of a downtown street in Arlington, WA. The Arlington project included an overhead utility conversion and complete street reconstruction and was completed to the great satisfaction of the City and the business owners.

Based on the preliminary schedule, we expect Strider Construction to start moving equipment into town toward the end of February. More details to come!

SE Pioneer Way Improvements Project - available for bids!

The City of Oak Harbor is pleased to announce that bidding for the SE Pioneer Way Improvements Project is now open. Qualified teams are invited to submit bid proposals to construct the project, which will include undergrounding of utilities, a new streetscape and revitalization of SE Pioneer Way.

The teams will submit technical design and construction proposals for the project based on the plans and specifications set forth by the City of Oak Harbor. Those plans and specifications together with the list of registered bidders can be found here:

http://www.bxwa.com/bxwa_toc/pub/2495/61_se_pioneer_way_reconstructi_67107/info.php

Final proposals are due at 2:00 p.m. on January 20, 2011. For more information, please contact Eric Johnston at (360) 279-4522 or ejohnston@oakharbor.org or Joe Stowell at (360) 279-4520 or jstowell@oakharbor.org .

What's new with SE Pioneer Way

The SE Pioneer Way Improvements Project continues to move ahead and toward construction. Here are some of our recent announcements:

Horse ring on SE Pioneer Way to be preserved

We have heard from many of you concerning the importance of preserving the horse ring mounted in the sidewalk at SE Pioneer Way near SE Hathaway Street when construction begins on SE Pioneer Way next year. The City is committed to saving the horse ring and will ensure that it is safely removed from the construction area prior to the start of work and reinstalled in its current location once the new sidewalks are placed. See the project plans for preserving the horse ring on the project to the left. You can also read the 11/30/10 article in the Whidbey News Times about the plans for the horse ring. In addition to the horse ring, the memorial plaque located near the intersection of SE Ely Street and SE Pioneer will also be preserved and reinstalled with the project. Questions and comments can be sent to Eric Johnston: (360) 279-4522 or ejohnston@oakharbor.org.

Looking ahead: Design is nearing 100% and the project will go out to bid by mid-to late-December
On December 7, 2010, City Council authorized the project to be advertised for bid. At this time, it is anticipated that the project will be advertised on December 15 with a public bid opening scheduled for January 20, 2011 at 2:00 at City Hall. A contract award will likely be considered by the City Council on February 1, 2011 at the regular city council meeting. Construction is planned to begin mid to late February and be complete by early September 2011. The bid documents will include incentives for early project completion. Once the contractor has been selected, more details will be shared with the construction schedule and specific sequencing of construction activities. Additional information for properties affected by utility improvements will also be part of discussions, likely in January.

Readying for construction outreach and during-construction marketing

On December 7, 2010, City Council considered budgets for construction outreach for the SE Pioneer Way Improvements Project. The topic is currently tabled for additional consideration in January. On marketing, the Harborside Merchants Association is currently developing ideas for marketing during construction to help keep business vibrant. If you have an idea for Pioneer Way marketing or for marketing of the greater Oak Harbor area, please contact Eric Johnston: (360) 279-4522 or ejohnston@oakharbor.org.

Please join us on Tuesday evening, November 30th, to share your thoughts on marketing efforts for downtown businesses during construction