Board of Trustees Recap for Feb. 9: Trustees Approve General Contractor/Construction Manager for Multicultural Center Project

February 14, 2018

Western’s Board of Trustees on Friday approved awarding a general contractor/construction manager construction contract for the Multicultural Center Project to Dawson Construction of Bellingham.

Dawson Construction will oversee subcontractors doing site mobilization, hazardous materials abatement, demolition, construction and site work for the Multicultural Center Project.

The project at the Viking Union expands the Ethnic Student Center, provides new offices for three Associated Students (AS) Students Resource and Outreach programs and a home for Multicultural Services. It will provide much needed space for student support and its location at the student union will not only provide easy accessibility, but will facilitate connections to a variety of resources and collaborative opportunities. For more information, see FAQs on the project.

In other business, the trustees also awarded Dawson Construction a competitively bid construction contract for renovation of Buchanan Towers. The renovation project, part of Western’s 10-year plan for residence halls, will occur in two phases: spring and summer quarters of 2018 and 2019.

The work will renovate residence rooms, bathrooms and kitchens, and will include upgrading plumbing, air supply and ventilation, fire detection and alarms, and security systems; hazardous materials abatement; new doors and windows; cleaning, repointing and sealing exterior masonry; installation of new gutters and downspouts; and upgrading interior finishes. 

The trustees also approved implementation of 2017-2019 Capital Budget funding.

In January, once the Legislature approved a state capital budget, Western received $27.13 million in new appropriations. Of the new appropriations, $6 million of general obligation bond funding is for the design of the Science Building Addition and Renovation project. The remaining funding, consisting of $8.36 million in general obligation bonds and $12.76 in local funds is for upgrading, preserving and maintaining facilities and infrastructure throughout campus. 

Two important requests that were not in the final capital budget approved by the Legislature included a portion of the funding for the Multicultural Center, and the funding for Disability Resources and Veteran Services at Wilson Library.

Because of their importance, trustees approved using university resources to self-fund $2.7 million for the relocation of the Disability Resources and Veteran Services offices at Wilson Library and $1.99 million for the Multicultural Center – only a portion of the $20 million project that also is being funded by a student fee, bond refunding savings and other university/division funds.

In other business, the trustees:

  • Heard an update on the gift of Sculpture Woods on Lummi Island (see related story).
  • Approved an extension of emergency rules on demonstrations and firearms and dangerous weapons while the permanent rule making on those issues continues.
  • Heard a report and update from Becca Kenna-Schenk, executive director for Government Relations at Western, on the current legislative session, scheduled to conclude March 8.
  • Approved appointment of the State Auditor’s Office to perform financial statement audit services for the fiscal year.
  • Held work sessions Feb. 7-8.
  • Approved Board of Trustees meeting dates for 2019-2020.
  • Meeting documents are available at the Board of Trustees website.
  • The dates for the next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees are April 12 and 13.