High Voltage Electrical Upgrade Project

Lake Tyee Recreational Park

Update 9/15/08

 

The new switch panel has finally arrived..  Potelco is in the  process of completing the testing of the panel and UL certification.  The current plan is for Potelco to remobilize the week of 9/23/08 and complete the Phase I Construction Project the first week of October. 

 

Update 7/02/08

Potelco has made very good progress for the civil portion of the work.  We are now waiting on the switch and box to complete the project.  We received word last week that the delivery of the new switch had been delayed until October due to the downturn in the housing market.  The story we received was the manufacturer of the switch shutdown one of his production lines and failed to let his customers know of the delay in delivery.

We asked Potelco to look for alternatives to this late delivery.  They came back and said they could get a rebuilt switch in 5-8 weeks with a reduced cost. The warranty period on the rebuilt switch is 18 months versus 24 months on a new switch.  We released Potelco to proceed in the procurement of the rebuilt switch.

Once we receive the switch, we need to UL approve it prior to installation.  There is approximately one week of wire pulling and terminations needed and then an 8 hour outage to complete the project.  We will keep you informed as we move forward

North Sky Communication continues to work on the final design of the balance of the park and should be ready with the design and cost estimate sometime in September.

 
Update 6/5/08

Potelco, Inc. mobilized June 2^nd to start the installation of the Phase I Construction Package.  A pre-construction meeting was conducted at the lake the prior week with our maintenance personnel.  The duration of the project is estimated to be 4 weeks and the goal is to be complete prior to the July 4^th weekend. We anticipate a short outage during this construction and the effected lot owners will be notified prior to this outage.  As mentioned in other updates, please keep kids and pets away from the construction sites and please proceed with caution as you drive past the construction site, as the safety of the workers and our lot owners is extremely important.

A kick-off meeting for the balance of the HV Engineering Package with North Sky Communication is scheduled for June 9^th.  We anticipate this effort to be approximately 90 days to complete. The kick-off meeting is intended to insure that all parties understand the scope of this effort and the deliverables that will be produced during this phase of engineering.  One of the deliverables will be North Sky’s estimate for the material and installation of the entire system. North Sky will also work with the Labor and Industries Department to insure the design envisioned conforms to all codes and regulations required by L&I.

Update 5/8/08

The Phase I Construction Package has been awarded to Poltelco, Inc.  There are two contracts for this work.  The first contract is based on a lump sum bid Potelco submitted a couple of months ago and the second contract is a Time and Material Contract for work identified by North Sky Communications that needed to be accomplished to address some safety issues and other issues that were very difficult to scope in our initial lump sum scoping package.

Potelco has been released to start the procurement of equipment and materials and they plan to start the civil work at the lake in the next couple of weeks.  The intent is that the work on the system will cause very little disruption of power, and that prior to any outages, those lots effected would be contacted prior to the outage.  As in any construction project there are unknowns and we hope to keep surprises to a minimum.  We will be working with Potelco to determine the completion date of the work as they get delivery dates for some long lead materials.  North Sky Communication will also be working with Potelco to insure the work is completed according to the engineering drawings and that any modification to the drawings are captured for future reference as the project continues.

We have also released North Sky Communications to complete the balance of the design effort for the new HV Electrical System.  We hope to be complete with this work by the end of this summer.  North Sky Communication has agreed to split the design into logical construction packages that can be bid and completed over the next three to four years. At the completion of the design effort a cost estimate will be completed so we get a clearer picture of the total cost of the new system.  As we get this information we will be sharing it with the lot owners.

The safety of the Potelco workers and our lot owners is a major priority.  If you see the work crews on site, please slow down to insure we provide a safe environment.  If you come upon a obvious work site, please keep kids and pets away to insure their safety.  Thank you in advance for your help.

Updated – 2-19-08

We met with three contractors to review the “Issue for Construction” drawings and talk about the Phase I Construction Package on Friday, February 8^th.  The contractors appear to understand the scope and we have asked that all bids be submitted no later than February 29^th.  The plan is to open the bids March 1^st.

We have also had preliminary discussions with the banks to secure financing for this project.  The bank has agreed to a line of credit we can draw from when we are ready to award the project.  Plans are in progress to send out information regarding the 2008 Special Assessment for the work that will be completed this year.  Once the bids are received and evaluated, the board will be sending out this information.

The balance of the Engineering Design work will also be included for the 2008 Special Assessment that will need to be completed in order to complete an estimate of the entire project.  The plan is to divide the balance of the electrical work into 3-4 packages so the work can be awarded and completed over the next few years.  The intent of this execution strategy is to lessen the impact on our lot owners.

Update – 01-22-08

Phase I Construction Package has been issued to three contractors.  The bids will be due in mid February.  The plan is to have a job walk with the contractors prior to them submitting the bids in order for them to better understand the scope of the work, ask questions, and to address any concerns the contractors might have prior to them submitting their bids. The construction of the project will begin this spring.

The scope of work for this package consists of the following:

1. Medium voltage 12,470 Ground Y/7200 volt, 3 phase and 7200 volt, 1 phase underground primary cable and conduit.
2. Padmounted transformers, switches, splice and junction vaults, and associated drains.
3. Grounding, including that required for cables, vaults and hand-holes
4. Underground conduit for electrical conductors
5. Trenching and backfilling, including that required by telephone and cable television companies
6. Coordination with Lake Tyee’s owners group, Puget Sound Energy and Verizon Communications
7. Obtaining and paying for all required licenses, permits, inspections and fees
8. Completion Test
9. Providing a complete set of As-Built Drawings

The contractor is to provide all materials, labor, services and equipment for the above work.

The intent of this package is to have better detection of where in the system problems have occurred and speed up the time of detection and repair time.  North Sky Communication completed the design package in late December and the package was sent to the contractors prior to Christmas.

We will update the progress of this package once the bids have been received and evaluated.

History of where we have been with this project:

Over the past few years the frequency of power outages at Lake Tyee’s facilities have increased significantly.  The system was designed in mid 1970’s and is now failing.  

Last summer, after one of the power outages, Lake Tyee received an unsolicited bid from a contractor to replace the entire High Voltage System for $2.4 million. The Board of Directors decided not to accept the bid and step back and consult an Engineer that was familiar with facilities like Lake Tyee.  North Sky Communication was consulted to do a complete inventory of the High Voltage System at Lake Tyee, make recommendations of a path forward and present their finding to the board and lot owners.

This study was completed and presented to the lot owners at the September Lot Owners Meeting.  A number of issues were identified in the study that are currently being addressed.  One of which is the scope identified in the Phase I Construction Package. Additional Engineering will be needed to complete the final design of the New High Voltage System.  All of the work identified in the Phase I Construction package is part of the New High Voltage Package Design.

The Lake Tyee Staff is completing other items identified in the initial study with help from one of the lot owners who is experienced with this type of work.  Hopefully this will minimize the cost of some of the repairs.

The final design of the new system will be completed in the first half of 2008.  Once the design is complete, an estimate will be completed to determine what the approximate value of the New High Voltage System will cost.  We are hoping it will be below the unsolicited bid received last summer. We have asked the Engineer to divide the work into three or four packages that could be bid out to contractors at different times.  The intent was to spread the work over three to four years to minimize the impact to the lot owners.  This work will need to be funded with Special Assessments that will be determined once the Engineering and Estimate Phase is complete.

Many will argue that by spreading the work over three to four years the cost will be more.  It is our thinking that if we completed the work all at once, we would need to secure a fairly large loan and the interest on that loan would be a large number.  We also thought that it would be unfair to the lot owners if we assessed the total amount of the cost in one Special Assessment. Either way, the reality of the situation is that the High Voltage System we have today is failing and needs to be replaced. We will continue to try to find the most economical and sensible solutions for this issue.

I hope this helps explain where we are today and where we think we are going.  I will continue to update this website as we move through this project. At the last four Lot Owners Meetings I have given updates on the project and will continue to do so.