Work on new school bus and food facility to begin in August

SILVERDALE — Central Kitsap School District currently uses a transportation facility near CK Middle School as a base of operations for its fleet of yellow buses.

But by June 2017, those buses will be move to a new $23.7 million facility along Dickey Road, just north of Silverdale Elementary School.

The project is called the consolidated transportation, food service and warehouse center, or “CTFW.” The project is part of phase I of the district’s long range facility plan.

CKSD hopes to begin construction in August of this year.

[LINK: CTFW plans (pdf) ]

[LINK: CTFW project estimates (pdf) ]

The project is 33,225 square feet in size. The one-story-tall CTFW building will include a warehouse, food service area with a large freezer, an administration and dispatch area for bus drivers, meeting space and a maintenance garage with room to handle six buses.

The area where the CTFW will be built is currently forested. Many of those trees will be cut down. A buffer zone of trees is planned to be left on the northern side of the property.

The building will be one story tall, but the roof will be higher in the food service area to accommodate the height of the large freezer. The maintenance garage will also have a higher roof to accommodate the bus maintenance lifts.

The loading dock will have three roll-up doors.

The CTFW will have 120 regular parking spaces as well as 102 large parking spots for buses. The bus spots are angled for easier parking.

A storm water retention pond will be at the northeast corner, as this area has the best soils for this purpose.

The plans call for north and south road entrances. Buses will enter the southern entrance, and then leave at the north. New sidewalks and a center turn lane on Dickey Road are also planned.

CKSD hopes to complete the permitting process in time to begin construction in August, and then hopes to begin using the facility in June 2017.

Project cost estimates are $8.8 million for the CTFW building, $921,872 for transportation equipment, $498,840 for kitchen equipment, $1 million for a washing and fueling facility, $4.8 million for site work, $877,000 for off-site traffic improvements, $1.1 million for contingency funds, $5.1 million for “soft costs,” and $500,000 for project reserves.

Soft costs include sales tax, design fees and furniture among other things.

The current transportation facility is located in unincorporated Kitsap County along Frontier Place near Central Kitsap Middle School in Silverdale. The 1977 building is 10,455 square feet and includes a maintenance shop, and support spaces. CKSD has an agreement with Bremerton School District to maintain BSD’s buses. Because of this agreement, CKSD is eligible for matching funds.

The CTFW will be built north of Silverdale Elementary School. It will have two entrances, a washing and fuel station, a storm water pond, 102 bus parking spots, a garage and a food service area and warehouse.