Pasco PFD approves $95,000 make‑ready for Ninja course as precast walls set to arrive

The Pasco Public Facilities District Board voted May 20 to add a $95,000 betterment to the aquatic center budget to pay for design and ‘‘make‑ready’’ work that will allow installation of a commercial Ninja course, board members said during the meeting in Pasco.

The betterment funds will pay engineering and some structural fabrication (clips and plates) now so the elements can be placed during current construction rather than retrofitted later, officials said. Board members and staff said doing the design and coordination now should reduce future costs if the district purchases the full Ninja course.

Board members placed the betterment and related construction updates in the context of ongoing site work. Owner’s representative Heath (last name not provided) and Boughton construction representatives told the board that precast concrete wall panels are scheduled to arrive June 2 and are expected to be stood up within about a week. That work will rapidly change the site from piles of earth to visible building walls, staff said.

Staff said roughly half of the $95,000 is design work and half covers installation‑related items; the amount paid now is intended to be credited against the eventual purchase price of the course. The board and staff also discussed a longer‑term price context: staff noted that if the board deferred early coordination and later chose to buy the full course, costs could be substantially higher (board materials flagged a potential later package approaching three‑quarters of a million dollars). The $95,000 approval does not obligate the board to purchase the full course later.

Construction sequencing and coatings were discussed in detail. Construction staff said most structural clips will be installed after trusses are placed but before final coatings to preserve corrosion protection in the natatorium environment; the plan is for clips and plates to be in place in August or September if design work starts immediately. Staff emphasized that the building’s structural members were sized during design to accommodate the additional loads, and the make‑ready work is to place connection hardware precisely where it is needed.

Board member Marie Gillespie said the budget and finance committee met and recommended approval of the betterment and payment. The motion to adopt “project betterments round 4 as presented” was moved and seconded and the board approved the motion.

Discussion items tied to this vote included other project risks that staff are monitoring — chiefly water‑rights costs — and a contingency tracker that currently factors the $95,000 make‑ready. Owner’s representative Heath said staff are holding placeholder contingency amounts for anticipated overruns on water rights and other items; even after factoring the $95,000 and placeholders, the tracker showed the project inside the board’s previously discussed tolerance (staff reported a remaining contingency around 5.36 percent in the tracker at the time of the meeting).

Board members also discussed site controls for windblown sand, staging of rammed‑earth wall samples and color selection, and early irrigation work to establish vegetation on off‑building areas to reduce sand movement. Staff said the rammed‑earth vendor had been testing mixes on site and that some native sand would be included in the mixes so finished walls incorporate local material. The board asked about hydroseeding effectiveness and were told irrigation and erosion controls will be important to success.

The board did not take any additional formal actions on the construction schedule at this meeting but asked staff to continue monitoring contingencies and to return with further information as risks crystallize.

Ending: The board approved the $95,000 make‑ready betterment and received detailed construction progress updates; staff requested continued oversight of contingencies (notably water rights) as the project moves into the next build stage.