Washington County approves demolition of Pines Elementary, OKs Change Order 001
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Summary
The Washington County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education approved demolition work and Change Order 001 for Pines Elementary School on Jan. 3, authorizing phased site work with demolition expected to start within two weeks and last 2–4 months.
The Washington County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Education approved demolition of Pines Elementary School and a related change order during a joint meeting on Jan. 3, 2023.
County Manager and County Attorney Curtis Potter summarized the project, saying Phase I covers demolition and site preparation. Potter told commissioners the preconstruction contract was awarded earlier (identified in the meeting as $295,000) and the change order presented at the Jan. 3 meeting was $957,422.83, bringing the project total discussed in the meeting to about $1,252,000. Officials said demolition could begin within approximately two weeks and take two to four months.
Dr. Linda Jewell Carr, Washington County Schools superintendent, told the joint meeting that the Fire Service issue related to the project had been resolved and that some demolition debris would be reused on site to reduce hauling. She said grade decisions must be finalized to complete a traffic study, and that fencing and color/mascot choices would be needed for bid specifications.
Board members discussed the remaining school properties after Pines is cleared. Dr. Carr said Early College prefers to remain in Creswell but the BOE will compare costs of keeping it there versus moving it back to Roper; Pre-K moves could be delayed by required inspections. The board also discussed retaining athletic fields and historical structures: Washington County High School will be demolished except for athletic fields, Roper Union (noted to have historical value) will return to county ownership, and other site decisions are likely two years or more out.
The Board of Education voted to approve the demolition/change order; the Board of Commissioners then approved the same change order by unanimous vote. Commissioners directed staff to produce a written order documenting the decision.
Next steps include finalizing grading decisions tied to the traffic study, preparing fencing and bid specifications, and beginning the demolition and site-prep phase. Funding notes discussed during the meeting said the county could use proceeds from future property sales or other staff-identified funds to pay demolition costs or associated debt service.