INSIDE: Birthday pie ... Island Life, A10
Record South Whidbey
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 | Vol. 88, No. 74 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Nichols Brothers shipyard lands another ferry contract By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter There are a lot of smiling faces at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders this week. Company officials announced the signing of the firm’s second $17-million contract this year with Seattle’s Vigor Industrial to build the superstructure of a new 144-car state ferry. The Freeland shipyard began work on the first boat earlier this year. Although it was unlikely that Nichols Brothers would not work on the second ferry as well, there were no guarantees, and CEO Matt Nichols was happy to confirm that the deal was finalized early last week. “Signed, sealed and delivered,” a smiling Nichols said. The two jobs combined, totaling $34 million for the small Whidbey firm, has allowed the company to hire an additional 100 workers and means steady work until the end of 2013, Nichols said. Many of those hired are young people from the community, continuing a long trend of Nichols Brothers being a generational employer. “We have three generations out here right now: grandfathers, fathers and sons,” said Nichols, adding that they have a few granddaughters working in the yard as well.
Justin Burnett / The Record
Tim Neraf assists Michael Christensen, both Clinton residents and pipe fitters at Nichols Brothers Boat Builders in Freeland, with the pilot house of one of two 144-car ferries the yard is helping to build for the state. The ship builder just signed its second $17 contract for the work last week. According to Washington State Ferries, construction of the two boats tabs out to $225 million — about $112.5 apiece — but construction management, contin-
gencies and furnished equipment will bring the total cost to $277 million. The primary contractor for the construction of both vessels is
Vigor, which will build the hulls and put together everything below the car deck. Their responsibilities represent about two-thirds of the total job.
The remaining one-third, the superstructures, will be built by Nichols Brothers. As subcontractors, they signed a contract with Vigor rather than Washington State Ferries. The first ferry is scheduled to go into service in early 2014, and the second boat will follow in early 2015. Although it’s not yet certain where they will serve, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano, promised one will go to the Clinton-to-Mukilteo route if the decision is made under her watch. “It will if I’m there,” Haugen said. The longtime legislator is chairwoman of the Senate Transportation Committee, a position that carries great influence over the state’s transportation budget and the placement of capital projects, such as new ferries. Haugen had a large hand in the decision to build three Kwa-di Tabil class ferries to replace the Steel Electrics, which were retired suddenly in late 2007. Two of the new ferries serve the Port Townsendto-Coupeville route and the hulls and superstructures of all three were also built by the Vigor-Nichols Brothers team. But Haugen’s power will remain only if she is in office and right now See NICHOLS, A3
School district eyes levy to repair aging buildings Search begins BY BEN WATANABE Staff reporter LANGLEY — There’s work to be done at the South Whidbey School District. In just her second year on the job, District Superintendent Jo Moccia had enough of the cosmetic, functional and safety problems and laid out a draft plan for a new levy and six-year maintenance schedule. “It seems to me to be a wise decision to put together a levy … so that we can plan,” Moccia told the school board Wednesday night during its workshop. “We have some serious maintenance issues.” Leaky roofs, split siding, torn carpeting, broken heating and cooling systems and cracked parking lots have marred the district’s buildings for years. Over the years, the school district’s maintenance staff has repaired and held the aging and decaying buildings together. The cost has become too much of a burden for the school district, which has lost substantial funding with state budget cuts and declining
enrollment. “Let’s get something current and up-to-date, then maintain it, rather than having some guys patch it together over a summer,” Moccia said. “At $200,000 a year, we’re never going to catch up.” The school board looked over the maintenance issues draft along with 20 other workshop observers — teachers, parents and principals. The consensus among the school district personnel was that items checked “immediate” should be the priority for the levy’s funds, which if approved would be available in 2014. Board Chairman Steve Scoles said some of the “big-ticket” and more visible projects — like carpeting, siding and HVAC replacements — should be added to the list, too. He and levy committee co-chairman Dean Hatt agreed the emphasis for the levy should be on items that voters may not see driving by the buildings, but impact students. “It’s just like any homeowner, you have water damage,” Hatt said. “Well, the building is just bigger, and there are several buildings.
for schools planning committee
BY BEN WATANABE Staff reporter
You need to communicate that.” The potential cost of the levy was not set,
LANGLEY — The future of the South Whidbey School District may well end up in the hands of 20 people. District Superintendent Jo Moccia received an informal approval to appoint a 20-member Long Range Planning Committee for the school district. A report is due by April. “It would take a considerable amount of time, because it’s not looking at any single thing like only facilities, or only enrollment,” Moccia said.
See LEVY, A6
See COMMITTEE, A6
Photo courtesy of the South Whidbey School District
Water damage like this at the high school atrium has South Whidbey School District leaders considering a maintenance levy in February.