At the Feb. 6 Board of Education meeting, the Tillamook Bay Community College Board of Education approved the hiring of Opsis Architecture. Opsis will work with Wenaha Group, the project manager for the college, on designing and constructing the new Healthcare Education Building. The selection committee, comprised of TBCC administrators, received six proposals for the project and interviewed the three firms with the strongest proposals, including Opsis Architecture.
On Jan. 19, the interviews and a mock community engagement exercise were held by the selection committee, alongside TBCC Board Chair, Kathy Gervasi and the two project managers from Wenaha Group. “The engagement exercise really provided a great opportunity for us to observe how the teams interacted with each other and their ability to engage with the community,” said Gervasi.
Wenaha Group negotiated on behalf of TBCC with Opsis Architecture considering the scope of services required, schedule of work, cost of services proposed, and any other matters in the interest of the college. Wenaha’s construction and design contract experience across the region allowed them to compare fee proposals to similar projects across Oregon and Washington to verify that the proposed pricing is within expected margins for like projects.
During the same February 6th meeting, TBCC President Ross Tomlin announced the formation of a Bond Oversight Steering Committee. The Committee is made up of citizens from across the county and will meet regularly to ensure that TBCC builds a high-quality Healthcare Education facility and spends bond funding as directed by voters.
The following community members are part of the Bond Oversight Steering Committee:
Mary Faith Bell, Vice Chair TBCC Board of Education
Tamra Perman, TBCC Board of Education Member
Justin Aufdermauer, Executive Director of Tillamook Area Chamber of Commerce
Doug Honeycutt, Mayor of Wheeler
Michael Weissenfluh, TBCC Foundation Chair
Michelle Jenck, Adventist Hospital Director of Well-Being
Michelle Bradley, Port of Tillamook Bay General Manager
Doug Olson, Pacific City-Nestucca Valley Chamber of Commerce
In May 2022, residents of Tillamook County approved a $14.4 million bond measure to build a new Healthcare Education Building on the college’s property adjacent to the main campus building. The building will provide the college with the capacity to add a nursing program, and additional healthcare occupations training programs, and provide space to expand and add new degrees and certificates to meet the community’s growing workforce training needs. The new building will include state-of-the-art simulation labs, high-tech classrooms, office spaces, and a large-scale community space for conferences, trainings, and locally hosted events. The facility is expected to open in late spring 2025.