LCCH plans for next three years of construction

CHELAN - Now that the new hospital levy has passed, the countdown toward construction has begun.

But before commissioners don their work boots and grab shovels to break ground a few steps have to be taken first.

The first step is to present to the Project Review Committee about the project, which will be handled by Lake Chelan Community Hospital and Clinic CEO Kevin Abel, project manager Barry Leahy and general contractor Dick Bratton on July 27.

“We’ll present the application with the qualifications of the individuals working with us, the financial piece, a skemayic of whar we’re looking at and the reasons why a General Contractor / Construction Manager (gc/cm) is a better option for the community than the traditional design and build process,” Abel explained to the LCCH Board of Commissioners at their meeting on Wednesday, June 14. “They’ll ask a couple questions and we expect we’ll get approval.”

Leahy inserted that he had received calls from five contractors from both sides of the state and every one is hoping they have a gc/cm contract. Some of them being ones that were calling in 2009 as well.

“There has been a lot of interest already in the contracting community, and most are over $400 million annual volume,” Leahy stated.

Once approved from the committee, Leahy expects to have a contractor on board by the first part of September. In the meantime, Leahy has already solicited a number of local firms to do civil and structural landscape and mechanical and electrical design.

LCCHC also formed a facilities committee consisting of Abel, CFO Vickie Bodle, board members Mary Signorelli and Phyllis Gleasman, Dr. Ty Witt, CNO Carol Velasquez, Director of Facilities Ken Peters and Leahy to help gather and provide input from caregivers and staff for the layout of the new building.

“I think it is a wise decision because it will be there for the next 50 years, so in the first 10 lets get it as best as we can,” Leahy stated. “The little things we can do, but we’re not building a massive new wing, we won’t be able to afford it, and everyone won’t get everything they want, it’s just the way it works. My goal is to produce the facility for less than we were allocated.”

Leahy expects construction to start mid year in 2018, which would put an end date around the middle of the year in 2020.