2-1-07 Chico ER article

Chico Enterprise Record
February 1, 2007

Nature center hopes second time is the charm

By LAURA URSENY - Staff Writer

Chico Creek Nature Center may be up against a wall when it comes to putting up its new walls.

The project to build a new classroom and lab areas at the center is facing a construction deadline of March 2008 because of the Proposition 12 park facilities funding being used. The project is going out to bid within a few weeks.

But bidding is a worry for nature center director Tom Haithcock.

This will be the second time the center asks for the project's price, after a failed attempt last year during which the bids were as much as $200,000 over budget.

"It was in excess of the worst-case scenario."

Haithcock hopes this is a better time of year to be getting bids, and hopes there's more interest from the construction industry in working with the nonprofit.

The nature center isn't looking for a handout, but would like a hand in making the project work. Haithcock hopes the building industry might find ways to make the budget work.

Since the disappointing bid process, the center has revamped the classroom design to save money, and hopefully open the door for a better bid.

"When we realized we were in excess of the budget, we took a three-pronged approach — raising more money, rebidding and redesigning the expensive aspects out of it."

Erased from the plan were a raised design, leaving the classroom at ground level, and landscaping.

However, storage space had to be added when the center lost a barn to fire last fall that was used for supplies and other items. A 500-square-foot storage area was added to the 2,000-square-foot design, which has been approved by the city.

Haithcock believes construction could start inside two months if the right bid comes in. It could be finished in six months. "Because of this window, this could be our final opportunity to send this project out to bid."

Haithcock said the expansion has been in the works for nearly seven years.

After failing in the bid process, the center went to work raising more money, bringing in between $12,000 and $15,000 more.

The center has amassed more than $600,000 for the project, including private donations and a $185,000 low-interest city loan. Because of the government money involved, prevailing wage must be paid, Haithcock noted.