The Lewis County Board of Commissioners ratified a change order Tuesday with Schwiesow Construction, Inc., for $2,070 in close out work on the new night-by-night shelter in Chehalis, bringing the current project total to $103,629.
The request is for Schwiesow employees to assemble an outdoor roof covering to be affixed to the grounds inside the shelter fenced area, according to the county’s resolution.
“It’s a small dollar change, identified as labor intensive but relatively easy work that facilities asked the contractor to do instead of having their own in-house people do it,” Lewis County Housing and Infrastructure Specialist Eric Eisenberg told the Lewis County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.
The total project cost remains well under the $160,000 county estimate for the renovations contract, according to the resolution.
Eisenberg confirmed Tuesday that the project is still “well within budget” and that the interior of the building is “very close to finished.”
Frontage work, including sidewalks, curbs and gutters, is the bulk of the work left to be completed, Eisenberg said.
The county ratified a $67,000 contract with Centralia-based company Schwiesow Construction, Inc., plus a $5,600 change order, on Dec. 10 for renovations to the new permanent night-by-night shelter at 2025 NE Kresky Ave. The work involved the installation of fire sprinklers and fire alarms, frontage work, fencing and a building renovation, including light non-structural framing work to meet the needs of a different use.
The Board of County Commissioners recently voted to add another $21,302 of HVAC work and $7,357 of miscellaneous closeout work to Schiesow’s contract, bringing the project total to $101,559 before Tuesday’s change order.
Jointly managed by HopeSource, based in Ellensburg, and the Salvation Army of Lewis County, the permanent shelter could house up to 70 people, based on initial shelter designs.
In April 2023, the county received roughly $2.5 million in state money to fund the shelter.
After selecting the site in the spring of 2023, Lewis County said a site located between the downtowns of Chehalis and Centralia “allows for proximity to services without changing either city’s character,” according to previous reporting by The Chronicle.
The county’s statement also described the location as easily accessible to emergency services while being located on already-established public transportation routes.
On Wednesday, the county announced in a news release that Lewis County commissioners will visit the shelter for a tour at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 24, to review and discuss progress, determine potenial changes and go over budgetary information.
