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Milwaukie completes seismic upgrades at Public Safety Building; installs 164.8 kW solar array at Johnson Creek campus
Summary
City staff reported completion of seismic strengthening work at the Public Safety Building and a larger‑than‑expected solar installation at the Johnson Creek campus, projects funded with state grants and completed in 2024.
Milwaukie staff reported at the Aug. 19 work session that seismic retrofit work at the Public Safety Building (PSB) was completed in 2024 and that a new 164.8‑kilowatt solar array at the Johnson Creek campus came online earlier this year.
The PSB seismic project began with a $1,200,000 grant from Business Oregon in 2022. Staff reported Peterson Structural Engineers designed the work, and construction proceeded after a 2024 contract award; the city said construction took place March through November 2024. City staff described scope items that included fiber‑reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening of CMU walls, equipment and furniture anchoring, steel bracing at stairwells and framing around sectional fire‑bay doors. The contractor performed pull tests on FRP attachments before finalizing work and the city said work was completed and painted over so interior spaces now appear unchanged.
A staff member said facilities anchors furniture that exceeds a height threshold and noted for this PSB project the engineer’s threshold required bolting cabinets and tall furnishings four feet or taller.
Staff also summarized the Johnson Creek campus solar project. The city received $375,000 from the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for the installation; Elemental Energy was awarded the construction contract and completed the installation earlier this year. Staff said the system is a 164.8 kW array that has provided roughly 85–90% of the site’s current electrical load under sunny conditions. The installation was done behind the meter; the city nets excess generation to Portland General Electric under net‑metering rules. City staff said they plan to track production on a public portal and that the city is interested in battery storage and resilience‑hub concepts for future projects but did not include batteries on this installation because of budget and schedule constraints.
No formal council action was taken during the update; presenters said they would continue to explore resilience, fleet electrification and additional EV charging at the West campus and other sites.
