By Mark Fritsch, General Manager
It’s been a few months since my last update on our power plant re-purposing project. We continue to make significant progress. You’ve probably noticed large piles of metal and debris on the west side of the plant when driving by during the last several months. During that time several hundred tons of equipment was reduced to scrap metal and removed for salvage, and hazardous material bins were hauled to a special waste deposal facility.
The biggest changes have occurred inside the plant. Removal of the boilers and turbines along with all the auxiliary equipment has opened up the space so we can finally see the potential the facility has to house our operations.
By the time you read this, the selective demolition of the power plant will be completed and we will be opening bids for the project’s construction phase. If the construction costs meet our expectations, we will select the general contractor and begin construction in July. We plan to complete the construction of a new vehicle storage building before December and complete overall construction by September of 2014.
Support of this project has been overwhelming. Community support, the ability to fund this project without raising rates and a design that meets OPU’s functional needs have combined to make this project possible. I continue to hear from people how pleased and excited they are that we decided to re-purpose this iconic facility instead of abandoning it.
The overall cost is expected to be $14 million dollars. FEMA approved $4.7 million towards this project so our cost will be a little over $9 million. This project will complete our recovery from the 2010 flood while preserving the power plant building. One design feature will include the ability for the public to use the facility as a meeting space during non-business hours.
Two pictures included in this article show that we plan minimal changes to the outside look, and internally the beams and columns that supported the boilers will co-exist with office and customer service space.
