Painting a room seems pretty simple, and with the right tools doesn’t take very long. But before the brushes and rollers come out, there’s a lot of critical prep work that needs to be done. Like moving furniture, masking molding and fixtures, spackling nail holes, and laying down drop cloths. Building elementary schools requires a lot of prep work, too.
In addition to selecting an architect, convening a committee to develop education specifications, touring other schools and getting design teams in place; we’ve been taking care of some field work that needs to be done before the architects can even begin drawing up plans.
Site surveys for all three locations are being done by civil engineers. These surveys document existing conditions that must be known before any building takes place. They lay out existing utilities, create topographical maps, and define boundaries.
There’s a lot of water in the beautiful Northwest, which means wetland studies need to be done for each site. All the field work for these is complete, the studies are in process and the biologists will be preparing their reports.
Geotechnical surveys for each site are in the works. These look at things like soil consistency and groundwater level to establish the load the soil can hold; which will determine what kind of foundation the schools need to be built on.
We’ve also had archeologists out at each site performing surveys to make sure our construction doesn’t disturb a historical find. We’re happy to say no significant issues were found and the reports to the Department of Archeology and Historical Preservation (DAHP) are being prepared.
We’re excited about building three new elementary schools that can provide safe and engaging spaces for our kids to learn. And we’re working every day toward that end. We’ll continue to keep you updated here at WeAreKels.org.