Cuesta Hires Measure L Consultants; Needs Committee Members

By Neil Farrell
The Cuesta College Board of Trustees recently approved multiple management contracts to begin working on its long list of improvement projects.
The district trustees approved multiple agreements with an architectural firm and a construction management firm to get started on major projects at both the North County Campus in Paso Robles and the SLO Campus on Hwy. 1.
PMSM Architects got a master contract for architectural services for the whole bond program’s job list, with no specific dollar amounts attached to it. PMSM also got a $2.6 million contract to design a 44,000 square foot 2-story building at the North County Campus that will replace old dilapidated temporary buildings where classes have been held since the campus opened in the 1990s.
A third contract, for $1.9 million, is for a new 32,000 s.f. classroom building at the SLO Campus that would also replace several temporary buildings that the State Architect’s Office has actually ordered be replaced.
The trustees also awarded contracts to Blach Construction for “construction management services,” totaling some $385,000. Blach’s task is to steer the North County Center project (for $124,930) and the SLO Campus building ($124,930) through a permitting process that will run through the Office of the State Architect, which oversees and permits all school construction projects in California.
Blach will also get $135,320 for a “master agreement” or retainer for continued management consulting services, for a grand total in its three contracts of some $385,000.
Both campuses also have lengthy lists of repairs and deferred maintenance to tackle, all paid for out of a $275 million bond measure passed last November by voters countywide. PMSM and Blach will be onboard for all these various projects.
The district plans on breaking ground on these two major projects next December, a somewhat ambitious schedule that Blach has been hired to meet.
The Community College District, under state law, also has to form an oversight committee and is looking for volunteer members. They still need a student enrolled and active in a community college support group (like student government); someone active in a business organization within the district; one senior citizen active in a local seniors group; someone from a “bona-fide” taxpayers association; someone from an organization supporting the college (like a foundation); and two members at large.
The committee will review all plans and designs and advise the board of trustees, as well as reviewing bids and expenditures to protect taxpayers’ interests.
Applications must be submitted by Jan. 31 for consideration. The committee will have at least seven members. See: www.cuesta.edu and click on the “Measure L” link.