President Longmire introduced new Board members, Larry Grumme and Rick Harder. Larry was appointed by the Trustees to fill the position of Dock Commissioner vacated by Rocky Brown and Rick was appointed to fill the position of Roads Commissioner vacated by Dan Poole.
BRIDGE REPORT – Design, Schedule, and Budget
Bridge Commissioner, Roger Hansen, reported that Phase I engineering for the bridge replacement project is nearly complete. Pre-development conferences have been held with the several governmental agencies involved to discuss the project, the preliminary bridge design, and the environmental issues. By the end of this month, applications will have been completed and submitted for all of the environmental permits required for the project.
Roger noted the Board of Trustees will be presenting an option to proceed with Phase II Engineering, which will cost approximately $206,000, at the July Annual Meeting. If the Club is in a position to proceed with Phase II Engineering this summer, the bridge construction could begin as soon as June of 2011. In addition to low interest rates for financing, savings could also be realized on construction costs; the state’s Department of Transportation has reported that most of their projects are coming in up to 25% under budget.
Roger provided an overview of the tasks completed by Exeltech Consulting to prepare the bridge design concept. A survey was done of the property owned by the Club that extends from the island across the waterway and ends at the west end bridge abutment. The survey determined that the existing 12 feet wide bridge was built on the centerline of this 60 feet wide bridge tract. The survey verified that a new bridge with a 22 feet clear driving lane (24 feet outside dimension) can be constructed on the south side of the existing bridge. The piles and primary structure will be built first, with the northernmost side tucked just under the existing bridge; one lane of the roadway would be installed. Traffic would then be transferred to the new roadway. After the conduits and related utilities are relocated, the existing bridge would be torn down, and the second lane would be installed.
The island roadway will be widened at the east approach, extending closer to the pumphouse on the well site property. Some temporary construction will need to be done at the entrance from the mainland to keep the access open on a daily basis. Access should remain open on the bridge during the nine months of construction with limited closures.
Geotechnical engineering was completed to determine the soil bearing capacity and conditions under the bridge structure. The ground is too hard to drive concrete piles; hollow steel piles, ½ inch thick with a 36 inch diameter, will be driven to a depth of 35 feet. The piles will then be cleaned out and filled with rebar and concrete. The spans between bents will be 51 feet, resulting in a total of 15 bents consisting of 3 piles each.
The profile of the new bridge will follow that of the existing bridge, with the same high center providing a navigational span. Storm water will drain from the high center to each end of the bridge. Current building code requires that storm water vaults be installed at both ends of the bridge to collect the storm water, treat it, and discharge it into the water. Vaults will be installed on the north side of the bridge entrances at both the east and west ends.
Roger noted that building a new bridge on the north side of the existing structure would not work because of the tight curve that would be required at the entry; it would be impossible to navigate and the roadway would not meet county requirements. Another factor is the location of the electric utility’s transformer vault located on the north side of the island entry.
The Engineers have provided the Club with a cost estimate for the bridge project (they did not compensate for economic conditions). The construction costs are estimated at $3.8 million; additional costs for sales tax, engineering, permits, a construction contingency, and legal and accounting, bring the estimate up to approximately $5 million.
If the Club proceeds with Phase II Engineering this summer, the project would go out to bid in February, 2011, with the objective of having a contractor selected by April. All of the permitting agencies have indicated that permits could be in hand by that time. In-water work is prohibited from March 15th to June 15th of each year, so the contractor would have a couple of months to prepare for work to begin June 16, 2011, with construction to be completed by March, 2012. If the project is not started during June of 2011, with considerations for the in-water work limitations, the soonest start date would be June of 2012.
The floor was opened for questions and comments.
BRIDGE REPORT - Funding
Bridge Finance Committee member, Dan Doyle, reported on progress made regarding funding for a new bridge. He noted that although economic conditions are favorable in some respects, the recent problems within the banking and finance industry have made it more difficult to procure a loan. Regulators are putting pressure on financers, particularly in three major categories: construction lending, real estate, and non-profits. The Club’s project falls within all three categories, which makes financing more of a challenge.
The Committee will continue to look at all funding options that may be available. The possibility of a municipality, such as Mason County, using their bonding capacity to finance the project is not promising, but hasn’t been ruled out (members would repay with assessments added to property taxes). Dan noted several different options for grants have been looked into, but grant funding is very limited and difficult to obtain. He noted the lead time to go through the grant process could be a problem for the Club given the life expectancy of the bridge. Grants haven’t been ruled out and research will continue.
Dan reported he has contacted various banks in pursuit of financing and only the Community Association Banc (owned by Mutual of Omaha) has indicated an interest in financing the project. They would provide the construction financing of $5 million as well as a long term loan to pay that off. He noted the term of this loan would be 15 years (they may consider 20) and the current interest rate is about 6.5%. The rate would be fixed for the first five years of the loan term and subject to change for each of the remaining five year increments. The Club has submitted application documents to this bank, but the pursuit for other lenders will continue.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has lending programs that may be available to the Club. One of the programs would entail the Club finding a tradition lender to provide long term funding for which the USDA would provide a 90% loan guarantee to that lender. This option will continue to be pursued. Qualifications for another program, a direct from the USDA, include being denied financing by local lenders and/or inability to pay in accordance with terms and conditions that may be offered by interested lenders. The loan term would be 40 years and the current interest rate is 4.2%; this can change every quarter, but once approved, the rate is guaranteed for the length of the loan. Dan noted the payments for a direct loan from the USDA would be about $1,000 per lot per year; payments on the 15 year term loan from the Mutual of Omaha would be about $2,000 per lot, per year.
The Club will pursue these loan programs with the USDA however there are issues that may cause the membership to decline these options. Because they are a governmental entity, the may not be willing to finance the bridge if it is only usable by those who own property on the island. There are questions that need to be answered regarding what the requirements would be as it relates to public access to the bridge.
The floor was opened for questions and comments.
President Longmire adjourned the meeting at 11:35 AM
Linda Pryor
Secretary