Board approves Franklin Ed Specs and moves forward with GCCM preconstruction contract after architects’ update

The Port Angeles School District board approved the educational specifications for the Franklin school project and authorized a preconstruction general-contractor/construction-manager (GCCM) contract after a detailed presentation by TCF Architecture.

The board voted to approve the Ed Specs and separately approved moving forward with a GCCM preconstruction contract. The motions were made from the floor and carried with aye votes recorded by board members.

At the meeting, Mark Pivoto, project manager for TCF Architecture, described the team’s predesign work and early schematic design: “We are on schedule to submit for permit in January,” he said, and said the team expects to progress into construction documents and begin construction in March with occupancy targeted for 2028. The presentation described a program document sized to about 60,000 square feet, early adjacency diagrams, and tradeoffs between two- and three-story building options to fit a constrained, sloped site.

Architects emphasized community engagement and advisory workshops. Glenn Miles, TCF’s leader of design, described PACAC meetings, school tours and hands-on modeling with advisory groups, saying the exercises helped the team “filter out what’s really important to Franklin and what we need to integrate into the project.” The team described site constraints—a slope, limited footprint and the need to balance parking, bus loop and play fields—and said they are coordinating pre-application discussions with the city and the fire marshal about access and code implications.

Board members raised neighborhood concerns about traffic and drop-off queuing at Race & Park and asked whether the city required a signal; the architects said the city did not require converting that intersection to a signal during the pre-application meeting but recommended keeping vehicles off Washington Street where possible and routing parent drop-off to the boulevard and park access.

District staff and architects said they are using a GCCM delivery approach to bring a contractor on earlier in the design process to help manage budget and materials decisions, reducing the risk of later rework or scope reduction due to cost. The board’s approvals advance the Franklin schematic design phase and the district’s next steps toward permit-level drawings and construction bidding.

The board’s formal vote on the Ed Specs and the GCCM preconstruction authorization followed the architects’ presentation. The approvals do not yet finalize construction contracts; the GCCM preconstruction authorization begins early contractor involvement and pricing for schematic-design packages. The district said next procedural steps include continued schematic design, permitting and further community briefings.

Documents and presentations for the Franklin project will be available through district project materials; district staff said they will return with further approvals as design reaches later stages.