Rehab Updates as of Jan 14, 2025:
- In December, Habitec shared current design plans over a Zoom meeting with board/staff and responded to board feedback and questions.
- Habitec submitted documents to the planning department at the city before the end-of-year deadline (submitting by end of 2024 avoids conflicts with any regulatory changes that could come with the new year).
- Plans are in the queue to move to the building department’s plan check.
- The board is moving from approved plans to approval of specific materials. We requested a materials “kit” from Habitec for our review. this kit was delivered to Fairbrae before the January 13, 2025 BoD meeting. Board members and club members in attendance were able to review proposed tile, pool and flooring materials included in the kit.
- Habitec’s detailed drawings have been shared with RDL (our construction contractor) for MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing). This allows RDL to give us detailed itemized numbers for the project. These numbers lead to a finalized contract from RDL (expected in January).
- RDL sub contractors completed on-site visits on Jan. 2.
- Further job walks were scheduled for the week of January 6.
- Our goal is to get tight pricing for contract to us in by the end of January.
- The board is working with an outside real estate attorney who will review this final contract.
Project Timing and Schedule
- The Board has been communicating with reps from Manta Rays, who have remained engaged and attended the Jan 13 board meeting. We share a goal of having the club open for a successful Manta Rays season and summer availability for all members. We agreed that May 1 is ideal, May 15th is workable, and June 1st is the latest start date for a Manta Rays season.
- While we wait to hear about permitting, finalized pricing/contract from RDL, we agreed on options and decision deadlines to ensure the club is available for the summer activities. We also want to have a schedule in place so Manta board, parents, swimmers and coaches can plan their summers. We committed to make a decision on a timeline on or before the Feb. 10 Board meeting. We identified two scenarios:
- Plan A: Pre-Season Construction: If permitting goes relatively quickly, contract review meets our budget and timeline, and RDL can hit the ground running, work may begin shortly after contract is reviewed and signed. We acknowledge this is an optimistic scenario, but until it proves unrealistic, we will keep the door open.
- In our meetings with RDL, they emphasized their experience maximizing use during phases of construction. This means that they will make efforts to keep tennis courts/pool open when work is happening in other areas.
- We feel we owe it to members to keep Plan A under consideration, as it delivers the rehab sooner, and we may save money by shortening the window of work and avoiding unknowns (tariffs, inflation, etc.).
- The next few weeks should bring clarity on whether Plan A is a viable option. Our deadline to decide to pursue this plan is our February 10th board meeting. If permits and contracts are not in place by Feb 10th, we will shift our focus to Plan B.
- Plan B: Post-Season Construction. In Plan B, we will make use of the “old” Fairbrae for one more season. Manta Rays families can make plans and facilities can be used through the summer season.
- During this time, the board and RDL will be preparing for a post-Labor Day start.
- Members may see materials on pallets toward the end of the summer or contractors on site, etc.
- While Plan A requires some luck with timing and jumping into action, Plan B has fewer question marks and gives us time to prepare. With our current progress, we don’t anticipate any issues to beginning construction as planned at the end of the summer season.
- In our past conversations with RDL, we have discussed potential scenarios like Plans A and B detailed above. They expressed that pausing construction until the end of summer would not significantly alter the project cost, but we will seek this language in the contract.
We look forward to clarity over the next few weeks, and are committed to make a decision on or before the Feb 10th board meeting. We’re prepared move efficiently with Plan A if there is a sudden flurry of activity from the city and RDL (and we do recognize that this is optimistic).
If, on Feb 10, we are not confident that work can begin and end in time for the summer season, we will move to Plan B. If so, we will continue to plan/coordinate and begin construction work at the end of the summer season.