Port approves changes for Boyer project

Crews from Palouse River Rock of Colfax work on the earthwork at Boyer Park.

The Boyer Park and Marina expansion project which began last month hit some snags and now requires some changes in the original plan, Port Executive Joe Poiré reported to port commissioners at their meeting Jan. 7.

Port commissioners approved 10 changes in the contract which now brings the job total to about $756,000. The project contract was awarded to Palouse River Rock on a low bid of $623,299 in November, and Poiré said he anticipated another $50,000 in changes as the project advances.

“All of this was going to cost us this anyway. What we have are design ramifications,” Poiré told the Gazette. “All of this comes to less than two percent of the project cost. There was not a dime in that that we would not have spent anyway.”

The changes are the result of engineer errors as well as discoveries made since the start of the project, Poiré said.

“During the walkthrough there were some things discovered and talked about,” he said. “We proceeded and then discovered more.”

One of the changes involved removing deteriorated trees and tree stumps, which was done while the earthwork for the project was being completed.

“Those were just unknown conditions of the tree roots,” Poiré said.

The cost of this change, which also included filling in topsoil and grading to match the terrain, totaled $12,251.45.

There was some concern expressed at the Port meeting in regard to losing trees at the park.

“There is no shade at all in the center of the park now,” Commissioner Tom Kammerzell pointed out. “It is just an open hole, and it will take a long time to get those trees back.”

Poiré acknowledged that it will take some time for the trees to come back, but he also said there is a plan in place.

“We are working with an arborist, and we have got a good plan,” he said. “People are understanding that we are taking out trees that are past their life span.”

Debbie Snell, Port properties and development manager, said they plan to plant London planetrees, which are a shorter but have a longer lifespan.

“We are planting stuff that is not going to fall apart,” she said. “The London planetrees top out at 50 feet.”

Poiré said he believes those trees will be nicer and will be less prone to breaking with their shorter length.

The highest cost addition, slated at $19,803.57, involves revising grading for the driveway for the cabins, preparing a new RV station, paving added areas and extending utilities to fit the new driveway. Poiré called this a design error.

The original plans called for a new driveway, and Poiré said the engineer had designed the driveway in what he saw as the most cost-effective route.

“He wanted to reroute that road and lose a campsite because it would be the most cost-effective.” he said. “But we can’t lose a camping ground. We’re full!”

Instead of constructing a new road, the new plans now call for the gravel road which currently runs toward the site to be paved.

“Everything in that park is going to be paved,” Poiré said. “We will revise back to the existing driveway, get the elevations right and not lose a campsite.”

The $19K ticket does not necessarily reflect the actual cost difference of paving the existing road rather than constructing a new one, Poiré said, though noting that the cost to do this instead is higher.

“It is not the true difference,” he said, noting that the original cost would have to be factored in to know the true difference.

In addition to the trees and the driveway, the other high-ticket item involves the bank slope at the park, which is being billed at $6,782.21. Poiré said this slope is being revised from a 2:1 slope to a 3:1 slope to make it more stable and manageable.

“It needs to be stable. It is all river rock down there, and we need to smooth it out so that it can be irrigated, so that a riding lawn mower can go over it and people can walk their dogs,” he said.

Poiré said this change came into consideration after the walk through of the park.

“That was something that we wanted to change once we saw it,” he said.

The original engineer plans called for keeping the slope as is and covering the area with juniper bushes.

“Juniper bushes would be a haven for rattlesnakes,” Poiré said. “We don’t have an area down there that the rattlesnakes like, and we are not going to create one for them. ”

Though the changes come with a steeper price tag, Poiré said he believes it will be worth it.

“We are trying to make this place shine,” Poiré said. “And to provide an area for people to recreate.”

Some of the changes involve saving money, as some parts of the project have now been eliminated. Two of the eliminations are to remove the installation of drain traps at sewer connection stations and installation of a water isolation gate. Poiré said these were removed because it was discovered that they are not needed. The third elimination, which is the biggest deletion, is cutting the paving of the RV pads, dropping $29,200 off the project cost.

Poiré said this change comes as a result of feedback. The new RV spots that will be constructed call for 100 amp services, rather than the current 30 amp services at the park.

“We have gotten so much feedback about people wanting these 100 amp services that it wouldn’t surprise me if we are in there in a couple years redoing that area,” he said. “Why would we put in new pavement now and rip it up 18 months later?”

Poiré said there have already been campers calling to specifically request the new spots once they are installed, so this move to delay the paving will save the Port from having to redo that area.

“Let’s factor in today what we didn’t know 60 days ago,” he said. “The world has just changed. People haul enough stuff down there that they are hauling a house.”

The changes also involved leveling a 36 X 36 site for new playground equipment, which the Port has already purchased. This item was planned for the project, but was not included in the original bid package, Poiré said.

“It cost us $1,500 to level the spot for the play area,” he said. “It is going in this year.”

Other changes include substituting a fire hydrant with one that is ADA approved and also removing 25 feet of existing concrete curb.

Poiré also said about $50,000 worth of changes are not currently noted, and the final contract will probably end up around $804,000. The additional changes are in regard to the four cabins, which need to be finished and fitted with air conditioning and electricity, at the cost of $10,000 per cabin.

“It is hard to rent those cabins if they are not finished,” Poiré said.

Commissioner Dan Boone said the cabins will add a boost to Boyer.

“If we are going to make this a destination, the cabins need to be finished,” he said, noting that the idea for the cabins came from feedback.

The remaining $10,000 is going to be used to pave the gravel area that connects to the highway, Poiré said. He said the area now is puncture vine, gravel and weeds, and many people store items there anyway.

“I believe people store trailers there more than anything,” he said. “And while we have got the asphalt mobilized, we will have them pave that out to the road.”

The current changes extend the project by 10 working days, though the project is still expected to be completed in May.