A new high school gym was not part of the plan in the $244 million bond issue that Snoqualmie Valley School District voters approved in February, but it might be soon, depending on how the school board decides to proceed at its next meeting, Sept. 10.

The new gym complex, estimated to cost $6.4 million as part of the overall renovation of Mount Si High School — about half of what it could cost as a stand-alone project — is being recommended by both administrative staff and the architects contracted to complete the schematic design of the building.

In his update to the school board at its Aug. 27 meeting, Matt Rumbaugh of NAC Architecture explained that the 2012 International Building Code required builders to consider soil liquefaction — basically, a breakdown in a soil’s weight-bearing capacity caused by earthquakes — on soils 80 feet deep at the construction site.

The code, adopted as the construction code by the city of Snoqualmie in 2013, had previously called for consideration of liquefaction down to only 50 feet.

Soil samples taken this summer at the high school site indicate there are essentially four layers of soil in the first 90 feet, two of which have a higher likelihood of shifting in an earthquake. From nine to about 40 feet, and from about 75 to 96 feet, the soil is a mix of sand and silt that is projected to have a higher potential for liquefaction. The soil levels are consistent throughout the site, Rumbaugh added.

One option that was briefly considered, Rumbaugh told the board, was injection grouting, a process that would pump liquid cement down about 30 feet, stabilizing the first layer of sandy soil. It wouldn’t be a complete solution, he noted, but it would likely allow people to safely exit the school buildings after a major earthquake, which is the intent. However, he said, it would not leave the building in useable condition.

Injection grouting would cost up to $2.6 million, and it, or another stabilizing option would have to be done.

“So doing nothing is not an option,” School Board President Geoff Doy asked.

Rumbaugh confirmed that it was not.

Rumbaugh recommended a full rebuild of the gym complex, which would address seismic issues down to the required level. The new 45,000 square-foot complex with a total of five basketball courts, and seating for 2,400 would also be less disruptive than remodeling an existing gym. He showed the board renderings of a possible layout of the new school, with three separate entrances for the school, the gym and the planned performing arts center, that would allow better access control of people coming to the school for specific events, too.

The net cost to the project, he said would be about $4.4 million, after accounting for dollars already budgeted for gym renovation, and subtracting the cost of injection grouting.

None of the soil stability issues were raised in the June, 2013 seismic study of the high school building, done by Reid Middleton, because that study was a preliminary analysis of the possibility of remodeling the high school, rather than rebuilding it.

Engineers did not take soil samples for that study, and if they had, they would not have identified the second layer of liquefaction-prone soil, because the building code in effect at the time was still the 2009 code, which required analysis only down to 50 feet.

“Now, how are we going to pay for this?” asked Ryan Stokes, co-superintendent, and director of business services for the school district.

He had a recommendation.

“We should approach this as if we were going to use the state matching funds,” he said.

Board members agreed prior to the bond vote that they would not account for any potential state matching funds in the project budgeting, but would use them, when they were delivered, to pay down the bond more quickly, or as a contingency for unexpected costs.

The match is projected to be $15 million, at a minimum, but could be larger; the district recently got confirmation that it would receive $7 million, not the expected $6 million, in matching funds for the sixth elementary school now under construction on Snoqualmie Ridge and scheduled to open next fall.

State matching funds are delivered the summer after they are approved, and cannot be applied for until the intended project is in the permitting stage.

Stokes told the board they would be asked to vote on the gym issue at the Sept. 10 school board meeting. For more information, visit www.svsd410.org.

Land acquisitions to begin soon

One of six property owners who have received purchase offers from Snoqualmie Valley School District has tentatively agreed to sell a parcel to the school district. Another is in the process of selling a parcel at auction. The rest are in incomplete negotiations with the district, but all of the negotiations will receive a push in early September, when the school board is expected to initiate condemnation proceedings, to acquire the properties adjacent to the high school property t by eminent domain.

Staff updated the school board members on the proposed purchase of the seven parcels and said the board would be asked to initiate condemnation proceedings at the next meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, at Snoqualmie City Hall.

“We’re still trying to exhaust all options to reach an amicable settlement,” said co-superintendent and business services director Ryan Stokes.

Condemnation proceedings will allow the district to acquire the properties, with or without the owners’ consent, for the high school rebuild. They are also a fairly standard process, which can offer a small benefit to the seller, in tax savings, Stokes noted. Although one property-owner has a prelminary agreement to sell to the district, that parcel would also be recommended for condemnation, to allow the owner to sell in lieu of condemnation, and save between 3 and 4 percent in taxes on the sale.

Several board members asked clarifying questions about the process, as well as on allowing for flexibility in closing dates, relocation allowances and other methods to ease the transition for the affected property owners.