Projects Archives - Page 6 of 12

Project Spotlight: Revitalizing the Salem-Keizer School District

Posted on April 8, 2022August 14, 2025 by OTAK Team

At Otak, we deal in cornerstones. Whether it be on a beautiful building or one of our values— cornerstones make us who we are in every sense of the word. One of these cornerstones is our projects, the work we do to elevate our communities and make them accessible, sustainable, and vibrant. Which is why when we were called upon to handle one of the biggest school bond programs in Oregon’s history, we welcomed the challenge, rolled up our sleeves, and got to work.

This was the case in 2018, when voters approved a $619.7 million funding bond for the Salem-Keizer School District. The goals? Relieve overcrowding, expand vocational and science learning spaces, improve safety and security throughout the buildings, protect the public investment with planning for upgrading infrastructure, and expand the wireless network for improved access to technology in mind. With the bond addressing every educational and support building in the district, our multidisciplinary approach wasn’t just desired, it was vital to the project’s success.

Building a Team

The project needed a qualified manager. Looking no further than our own team, we tapped Bob Collins, PMP, CCM, to lead 19 other Otak employees in working with the district to ensure strong project planning and delivery. Tasked with developing a plan to make the district’s aspirations a reality, we provided management services so voters could be confident their tax dollars would be stretched for maximum benefit to students and the community.

Tools of the Trade

We utilized a variety of tools to accomplish this. First, we introduced the district to Smartsheet, a significantly less costly project management information system that allows for easy tracking of costs, tasks, and schedules. Smartsheet made it simple for them (and us) to cross-reference and standardize work so that each project optimally benefitted from the influx of funding.

Second, we developed a set of guiding principles and official specifications for the scope of work, establishing a clear roadmap to project completion. Serving as a guiding light for 25 pre-qualified, local contractors and architects, we provided an action plan that contended with the ambitions of the district. Our project management and construction management capabilities presented a direct benefit to this program, and were a key factor in how we won such a far-reaching project.

Reinforcing our Values

This all ties into Otak’s “Why.” When it comes to uplifting communities and elevating our built environment, we do those things not because it’s lucrative, but because the project has benefits that will last generations to come. We believe in creating places that will benefit the many, not just the few, and our growing experience with schools is a prime example. When students have adequate facilities for learning and growth, the benefit to society extends beyond our body of work, and instead translates to value-added approach that serves the public good.

In Bob’s own words, “We are actively matching and meeting the goals of the bond with all of the tools at our disposal. We do this by making taxpayer dollars stretch further with tools like Smartsheet, and through our expertise, we’re confident we can deliver facilities to students that need them.”

So, join us in celebrating the work we do that benefits scores of children within the Salem-Keizer district, and here’s to continued success as we leverage everything we can to accomplish this work for the good of all.

Otak Design Team Keeps History Alive at Jasmine Tower

Historic preservation often entails restoring and rehabilitating old structures. However, for Otak’s Jasmine Tower project in Seattle, Washington, the goal for preservation is instead to maintain the location’s use as a public gathering space—one that captures decades of memories while offering the opportunity to build new ones.

Jasmine Tower sits in the Chinatown and Asian District of Seattle and was the former site of a community building that was first constructed in 1942 as a one-level brick building. Two levels were later added and the site became home to a restaurant and lounge called Bush Gardens. Through the years, the location was the site of numerous weddings, parties, and significant events that many in the community now remember fondly.

With this history as the backdrop, Otak was contracted to create a design reflecting the site’s former uses, while adding new housing opportunities and helping rejuvenate this area of the district. The client, Vibrant Cities, has offices next door to the site, as well as family history tied to the neighborhood, making this a personal legacy project for both the client and Otak. Getting the formula for this endeavor just right requires numerous meetings with multiple project stakeholders, including Seattle’s International Special Review District board and the community to ensure the integrity and dignity of the neighborhood remain intact.

The Jasmine Tower project was adjusted based on community input.

“Our clients have trust in Otak. Our design team had previous experience working through these kinds of challenging processes. We have experience with that type of building and we can take charge and guide it through the design process. There are lots of meetings with the community as well as the board, and if we’re not paying attention to that large constituency group, then we’re not going to be successful,” says Gary Reddick, the project’s Director of Design. Gary was joined on the Otak team by Li Alligood, Senior Planner, Casey McKenna, Senior Project Manager, and Ron Dean, Senior Designer.

The community originally wanted to preserve the building and Otak set about surveying the property to see if rehabilitation was possible. Unfortunately, the building proved to be structurally unsound and nothing was salvageable. “What we’ve really heard at the meetings with the public is that they want the legacy of Bush Gardens to continue. Our job has been to show that the happy memories were more about the experience than the building. There are so many memories embedded in the site and we know if we keep a part of the new building as a community gathering space, those memories can be retained and new ones created,” Gary comments.

That input from the public has reshaped the original design for the first two floors which were initially intended to be mostly residential. Now, that space will be occupied by a restaurant and retail on the first floor and office space on the second. A large community event room will also occupy much of the second floor and serve as the new place for building memories. In a nod to the history of the space, old photos and artifacts from the site’s days as Bush Gardens will be featured throughout. The remaining fifteen floors will be residential and there will also be a three-level parking deck underground.

Along with capturing the history, the design of the building is also the first in the district to take full advantage of the 170-foot zoning heights. Strategic massing, where the ground levels will be given more weight than the upper levels, will help maintain the neighborhood feel of 3 or 4-story buildings. “Otak is experienced as the first development group to take advantage of height increases in other areas (see Hyatt Place). Being the first to reach for those heights requires additional explanation and meetings to build comfort,” Gary comments.

With at least three more meetings to go, Gary says construction is not likely to begin for another year or possibly two. But he knows the end result will be a building that embodies the community spirit. “It’s not the building, it’s the container for the memories. We’ve honored the container in our design and the building will add value to the whole district and bring people back.”

Dungeness River Pedestrian Bridge Enhances Natural Habitat, Benefits Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

It isn’t often that our engineering profession delivers infrastructure projects that actually enhance and create salmon habitat by allowing the restoration of natural processes. This was the case for the 750-foot long river-worthy and salmon-friendly Dungeness River Pedestrian Bridge constructed in 2015 for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe. Now, six years later, the bridge and habitat restoration have proven to be a real benefit to the river, salmon habitat, and the 1000+ pedestrians and bikers who cross the bridge daily. The increased bridge traffic has also brought new opportunities to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and plans for a bridge extension and new nature center are underway.

The bridge design allows the Dungeness River to naturally migrate, increasing the potential for fish-bearing habitat.

2015 Flooding Destroys Existing Trestle

In February 2015, during a large flood event, the Dungeness River avulsed laterally approximately 100 feet and destroyed two bents of the existing bridge trestle. The trestle carried the popular Olympic Discovery Trail near Sequim, WA and the closing of the damaged bridge sent ripples through the community. The owner, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, immediately began applying for grant funding to restore the crossing, and after months of effort, secured several grants that were primarily focused on salmon recovery.

Otak was selected and began design work in May 2015. Preliminary meetings with the Tribe and the stakeholder group allowed an expedited alternatives evaluation and selection process, and the final design was completed by the end of July 2015.

New Design Reinforces Stability

The new bridge design included four main spans of 185-feet each, which were prefabricated steel trusses with a concrete deck and a 30-foot wide section in the center to create an overlook area. The bridge piers had a buried pile cap with driven piles down to bedrock and a single concrete column supporting a hammerhead cross beam.

A robust pier design ensures stability after deep scouring below the pile caps, including lateral water pressures on debris buildup. To make the bridge river worthy, the piers had to withstand river avulsions anywhere along the span. Because of the stoutness of the pier’s limited ductility for seismic performance, the superstructure was supported on seismic isolation bearings on top of the pier caps. Restrainers were incorporated into the design to limit maximum seismic displacements.

Dungeness River Pedestrian Bridge extension preliminary design.

Expedited Procurement, Permitting

To expedite procurement, the bridge sections were pre-ordered in July, with the main construction bid in August 2015. The site contractor was then selected and mobilized in September 2015. Environmental permitting was expedited including the US Army Corps of Engineers permit, which was applied for in June and granted three days before mobilization.

Spawning Salmon and Habitat Reformation

During the pre-construction walk-through, a pool in the Dungeness River was almost completely black—filled with more than a thousand spawning salmon. Because of the sensitivity of the river, caution was taken to minimize disturbance near and over the water. After the foundations and piers were complete and the bridge spans erected, a notice came in late November that heavy rains were predicted. The contractor immediately removed the temporary bridge over the river, and three days later a flood hit, which not only washed out the section of the river where the temporary bridge was but shifted the thalweg another 80 feet to the west—completely exposing one of the buried piers. Not to worry though, the bridge foundations were deep and structurally robust enough to withstand the river shifting and meandering. And, by doing so, new habitats are constantly being formed.

The complete removal of the existing trestle and replacement with longer spanning structures allows the Dungeness River to naturally migrate and thereby significantly increases the potential for fish-bearing habitat. As such, the bridge has been deemed salmon-friendly. The trestle replacement not only required a high level of engineering skill, but also engineering that had an appreciation for the natural sciences, with equal focus being on salmon recovery as well as the restoration of the popular trail linkage.

The grand opening of the bridge occurred on December 30, 2015, only eight months from the start of the design. Randy Johnson, Habitat Program Manager, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe expressed the tribe’s appreciation for the new bridge the following November, stating “In contrast to the old bridge, the new Otak-designed bridge is environmentally friendly and river worthy. It has already been tested by several floods and has performed with flying colors. Trail users are enthralled with the bridge.”

Conceptual drawings: Dungeness River Pedestrian Bridge, nature center, and amphitheater.

Fast forward six years to the present and the tribe, working together with Otak, is beginning work on an extension for the bridge, as well as the partial removal of an existing levee to make the flood plan even wider. The bridge extension structure will essentially replace the portion of the levee being removed. In total, this will allow the river to run more freely and will further enhance ongoing river restoration. Designs are being finalized for the new bridge extension, which is on track to be completed in the summer of 2022.

Reconstruction of the nature center on the east side of the river began earlier this year. The new extension will provide improved access for visitors to the new Dungeness River Nature Center from the bridge, as well as access to a trail to a natural amphitheater and a bi-pass for pedestrians and commuters from Port Angeles who traverse the bridge and Olympic Trail daily.

Connecting Communities Both Large and Small

With the recent hiring of Senior Transportation Manager, Amanda Owings, and James Winslow, Transportation Business Manager, Otak has taken a bold step toward enhancing its project capabilities within the transportation sector. Transportation is a critical piece to building community, providing a way to get from point A to point B, while also creating access to areas and building opportunities that may formerly have been out of reach. Both Amanda and James are poised to expand Otak’s transportation team and project capabilities.

Amanda is a traffic engineer who has worked within all facets of transportation, from traffic signal review to accessible ramp designs. “Any time you’re doing development, there’s a requirement to look at how it impacts existing systems. My experience evolved from civil engineering to performing roadway design and then specifically to traffic,” she comments.

James has worked in the civil engineering field for 20 years. Over the past 14 years, he worked in various segments of the transportation, active transportation, and traffic signals fields, where he has managed bridge, roadway improvement, sidewalk, and traffic signal upgrade projects. This experience included managing not only the design components, schedules, and budgets, but also the public, council, and community stakeholders. He has also worked in the water, wastewater, environmental, and geotechnical disciplines.

“I remember one stakeholder meeting where many individuals, including the director, had differing visions on how to move forward. However, through hard work and a collaborative approach, cooperation was possible. Often it takes a dedicated champion and commitment to really listen to others and work towards achieving that common goal,” he comments.

The pair’s varied and extensive backgrounds in transportation made them an ideal fit for Otak.

Amanda chose to come to Otak because she sees the opportunity to take her career into a creative space while drawing upon experience in traffic solutions. She looks forward to her role in growing the engineering team and mentoring younger engineers. Her work will entail performing quality control to ensure clients’ needs are met along with supporting internal teams to make sure they have the tools they need to do their work. Potential project work Amanda will spearhead includes bike and pedestrian path planning, multi-modal design related to roadways and development, and facilitating meetings to discuss how transportation-related infrastructure will intersect with land use goals, ADA accessibility, and future growth.

“I am passionate about safe, well-connected infrastructure and that our communities have equal access to this system. Often there’s not enough money to go around to build to the ideal, but where there is new development, I’ll help see that the design is appropriate for the needs of the surrounding community,” she says.

Applying his past experience to work on solving problems with innovative and creative solutions for multiple agencies across a region is what James finds most rewarding about his work with Otak. His years of public sector experience have given him a unique understanding of both the public and private sides of the project management equation. “I’m critically aware of the potential pitfalls that can be encountered on both sides, and potential solutions or initial steps that may need to be taken to help agencies avoid those potential issues,” James states. Along with his client work, James will join Amanda in guiding and supporting the transportation team as it grows.

Both Amanda and James see a bright future for transportation projects that they predict will be more equitably distributed, from big-city projects to small rural ones, allowing for every community to benefit from enhanced connections.

The Byway Creates A Sense of Place For The City Of Wood Village

The City of Wood Village is one of three cities east of Portland, OR (Fairview and Troutdale are the others), that have been working together since 2017 to create a shared vision for Halsey Street, specifically where it runs from Fairview Parkway to downtown Troutdale. Entitled “Main Streets on Halsey,” the Halsey Corridor Plan seeks to create a neighborhood feel with boutiques, apartments, restaurants, community buildings, and plazas lining the street, along with improved pedestrian pathways, colorful awnings and signs, artwork, and murals. The Byway, a new mixed-use development in Wood Village, is one of the first Main Streets on Halsey sites to be completed.

The iconic tower at The Byway is a new landmark for the City of Wood Village.

Otak, working with developer Williams & Dame, collaborated with the City to create a vibrant community center at The Byway. This accomplished both the goal envisioned for the Halsey Street Corridor and the goal of the City to create a sense of place. As Casey McKenna, AIA, project manager and Otak Mixed-Use Studio Leader, states, “The project was really a placemaking effort and the completed Byway, with its iconic tower and amenities for both residents and visitors, has done just that.”

Situated on approximately three acres at the corner of 238th and Halsey Street, the former site of the Wood Village City Hall, The Byway encompasses eight buildings in total with ten thousand square feet of retail space, 170 apartment units, shared community space, a fitness center, and a pool. The Byway also features a blend of modern amenities and Pacific Northwest style, designed to enhance and embrace the outdoor spirit of the City, which is a gateway to Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. A large tower in the heart of the development is reminiscent of forest service lookout towers and has become a landmark for the City.

Casey remarks on some of the finer details in the overall project, including how the design enabled maximum density and site efficiency: “We were able to squeeze enormous yield per square foot in each of the buildings, netting more than ninety percent efficiency.” Some of the apartment units were designed to provide flexibility to tenants through multi-purpose spaces and separate living quarters which, as Casey explains, “can serve families, roommates, or someone working from home who needs that extra space for a home office.” The different areas of the development also provide for different experiences with various gathering spots, outdoor grilling stations, and other amenities all designed to serve the residents. A dog wash and nearby walking trails will add to the overall enjoyment of the place.

Retail space is slated to include a coffee shop, pub, boutiques, and professional services to serve both residents and visitors.

Otak provided complete project management for The Byway, as well as architecture, land use planning, civil engineering, survey, urban planning, landscape, and water and natural resources services. Structural engineering was provided by Froelich Engineers and the contractor was Deacon Construction.

A ribbon-cutting was held on August 10th, with City officials, including the city manager, the mayor, and residents all in attendance. Casey says, “the strong sense of community pride was evident. It was great to see, and for all of us at Otak, it is rewarding to know our work is making a difference in the communities we serve.”

Creating Community On Former Riverfront Industrial Site

St. Helens, Oregon, is a growing community of over 13,000 people located 30 miles north of Portland. After years as an industrial hub, two wood product industries closed, leaving behind acres of brownfields abutting the Columbia River. The City of St. Helens (City) and its residents recognized the opportunity to reimagine the waterfront as a multi-use community asset and an RFQ was issued in late 2020 to begin the transformation with two projects: the South 1st and Strand Streets Road and Utility Enhancements and the St. Helens Riverwalk projects, both of which Otak will be working on.

The Otak team is leading the South 1st and Strand Street project and is a sub-consultant to Mayer/Reed for the Riverwalk project. As developers eye the riverfront location and offer visions for its future, the City and the Mayer/Reed-Otak team intend to address the transportation and infrastructure gap by connecting

Improved infrastructure and roadway connectivity will help guide future development of St. Helen’s riverfront.

the Columbia River Highway (OR 30) to the Riverfront District, as well as better connect pedestrians and bicyclists to existing roadways, trails, and the waterfront. The work will provide numerous road and utility enhancements and multimodal connections. Public water extensions and looping, sanitary sewer and storm drainage, and the relocation of the existing sanitary sewer lift station are all critical components that will help attract developers as the area begins to transition from industrial to mixed-use.

Running parallel with this project is the design and engineering of the St. Helens Riverwalk Project, which will include the design and construction of a boardwalk, overlook, and multi-use paths to maximize pedestrian connections. Mayer/Reed is leading this project overall, but Otak is managing the design for the replacement of an existing stage area with an amphitheater that can host community concerts and events and serve as a gathering area.

Representing Otak on both of these projects is Project Manager, Keith Buisman, and Project Coordinator, Mandy Flett. Otak has a single team working on both projects in tandem and the ability to coordinate a team in-house that has the wide array of skills and experience needed for the project was instrumental in being selected for this work. Every discipline in Otak is being tapped from planners to surveyors, architects to engineers. Revitalizing this riverfront aligns perfectly with Otak’s mission to create communities where people can live, work, and play.

“Planners came in first and provided an idea of what could be done with the parcels and how to lay them out for future development,” Mandy says.

The utility and roadway design and the design for gateways and pedestrian facilities are underway and expected to be completed this coming fall. Construction management will then follow and is tentatively scheduled to wrap up in 2023.

“Our work is to create a sense of ‘there’ in a town that has so much potential. We want to make it a destination for those who live there and also for visitors. When you enter the City, the river draws you in and we want to take advantage of that,” Mandy comments.

Moshier Park Stormwater Project Yields Benefits to Community and Fish Habitat

King County, in Washington, is situated within a natural watershed, home to various native fish species, including Coho Salmon. Restoration and preservation have become a priority focus across the region with salmon runs declining due to loss of habitat, barriers to fish passage, and poor water quality. For cities like Burien, with sensitive Coho salmon-bearing creeks running directly through them, there is an urgency to address water quality and pollution from stormwater run-off.

Public works projects need to balance multiple priorities against available funding and budget restrictions. So, when Otak was hired by the City of Burien (City) to do the final design of a stormwater retrofit at Moshier Park along Miller Creek, the team took a multi-disciplinary approach. The goal was to resolve a complex set of issues and provide maximum benefit in conjunction with other planned park improvements.

Addressing Untreated Stormwater Runoff, Flooding

Miller Creek, a natural waterway for spawning Coho Salmon, crosses through urbanized areas and ultimately discharges into the Puget Sound. Due to the amount of untreated stormwater runoff draining from the creek basin, the health of the creek is greatly degraded and conditions are poor for supporting the aquatic habitat. In addition, localized flooding and erosion along the creek’s banks have resulted from existing vegetation being converted to impervious or less pervious surfaces.

Moshier Park is a 15.2-acre public park that features lighted athletic fields, a community arts center building, and a large parking lot that is also used by Highline High School for events at Highline Stadium. The park was identified as an area for a stormwater retrofit project, funded in part by the Washington Department of Ecology, which would have the highest benefit value to Miller Creek.

Balancing Priorities, Maximizing Opportunities

While the project’s primary objective was to retrofit Moshier Park to provide stormwater flow control and runoff treatment, Otak saw the greater opportunity to incorporate other park improvements the City wanted to complete. Otak project engineer, Tyson Hounsel, explains that “by packaging some of the other park improvements into the design and construction timeline, we were able to save the city both time and costs. Plus, through all of our teams—survey, architecture, landscape architecture, water and natural resources, and engineering—we could develop a comprehensive design that includes the stormwater facilities, as well as a synthetic sports field, and a new restroom and concessions building at the park.” Otak also aided in obtaining the necessary environmental permitting and will act as the construction manager to oversee the retrofit and park improvements through completion.

One of these key improvements will be converting the large asphalt parking lot to less-impervious surfaces and installing an underground water detention tank and treatment facility that will capture stormwater runoff. Interpretive signs will also be installed in the park, which will be used by the neighboring high school as well. The project will break ground later this summer and is slated for completion in 2022

In the end, the City will have a newly designed and updated multi-purpose park that, as Tyson states, “will be a real community center.” Miller Creek will also benefit from improved water quality and will provide a more hospitable environment for spawning Coho Salmon.

2nd Street Bridge Brings A Community Back Together

The design of a bridge reflects not just a path over an obstacle, but also the joining of two areas of land that are separated. For Otak’s designers, the 2nd Street Avenue bridge in Lyons, Colorado, had a third purpose, which was to put a community back together after it had been devastated by the 2013 floods.

The previous bridge was heavily damaged by floodwaters and debris.

When the floods hit, water beat on the bridge for several days and a fallen log hit one of the key structural supports. Flood debris covered the bridge’s piers causing water to infiltrate the town’s wastewater treatment plant, destroy a storage building and equipment used by the town’s Public Work Department, and damage a downstream bridge. Eventually, the damaged and unsafe bridge took away the connection between the town, two housing subdivisions, a church, a school, a park, and a recycling center.

Otak was hired by the town to do emergency repairs to the bridge and to design the new structure. Zak Dirt was brought in as the contractor. Various engineers worked on the project throughout its lengthy design process, with Otak’s Structures Group Manager Dan Beltzer finishing out the job. “We had a great team to guide this work. The design really shows how simply rebuilding isn’t always enough. This bridge was built back better as a sustainable structure that will last well into the future,” Dan says.

The new single-span bridge is 139 feet, crossing the St. Vrain Creek. The design was approved in the fall of 2019 and construction started in 2020 with a cost of about $4 million funded in part by FEMA with assistance from the Colorado Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief program. The new bridge was built six feet higher than the original structure, to convey the 100-year storm event to allow for future floodwaters and debris to safely pass under it. It was also built to withstand a 500-year scour event. Dan says scour is the number one reason bridges collapse.

A ribbon cutting celebrated the new bridge and memorialized the town’s former engineer.

The project was unique in that it was the first bridge in the state to use the Colorado Department of Transportation’s new Bulb-Tee concrete girder shape. “Colorado’s new standard provides more girth, which allowed us to further minimize the required bridge depth as compared to the previous standard – which helps the hydraulic conveyance while minimizing the required raise in roadway grade. The new standard became available very late in the design process and none had yet been built. In fact, only one fabricator had the ability at that time to construct the girders. Still, pricing and learning-curve concerns gave way to the design benefits.” Dan comments.

A ribbon-cutting was held on July 8 to celebrate not just the completion of the bridge and one of the last FEMA flood recovery projects in the community, but the resiliency of Lyons. Dan says the ceremony also stood as a memorial to Jim Blankenship who served as the town’s engineer for over a decade, and worked with Otak on several projects, including the Main Street Reconstruction project, which won the APWA Colorado’s overall Project of the Year award. The event drew dignitaries, such as Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper, Congressman Joe Neguse, and Lt. Governor Primavera. The officials touted the ability of not just Lyons, but of any community, to build back better and ensure a safer future.

Protecting National Wild & Scenic Rivers

Enacted in 1968, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (WSR Act) has safeguarded rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values. The WSR Act also provides a framework for river use planning and management by federal and state agencies. As we celebrate National Rivers Month, Bill Valliere, Otak Research Analyst and member of Otak’s new Visitor Use Planning & Management (VUPM) team reflects on how his group’s work is aiding comprehensive river management plans and protecting national rivers.

While the team itself is new, their body of work is not. For example, Bill, and Steve Lawson, VUPM Director, have been working together on and off since 1999 on issues surrounding visitor use, management, and planning for outdoor recreation spaces—specifically with regard to how many people can visit natural places without either the experience or the resources being degraded. “Steve and I first met and worked on a project in Yosemite National Park that was eventually part of the Merced River comprehensive management planning. It was a very controversial, and complicated procedure, but it was ultimately successful,” Bill states, “More recently, we’ve been working with the U.S. Forest Service on some of their rivers that are in need of comprehensive river management plans.”

Otak’s VUPM team is dedicated to analyzing, modeling, and planning for visitation levels and patterns within the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, national parks, protected areas, and a wide variety of buildings and public spaces. Bill and the rest of the team offer a specific set of skills and expertise that public agencies typically do not have on staff but are critical to effective planning and use management. In the case of wild and scenic rivers, the VUPM team will be able to help ease a backlog of work.

Every river that is designated as a wild and scenic river needs to have a comprehensive management plan within three years of designation. Bill points out that “some of those rivers have gone beyond the three years and the Forest Service is trying to make up ground on the backlog of rivers that need to have these plans in place.” In this regard, the team will work primarily on the portion of those plans that deal with visitor use management and visitor capacity, providing key data on how many people specific river corridors can accommodate without degrading the wild and scenic designation values.

Photo simulation used for a study on the Merced River.

Through various studies, the VUPM team estimates the numeric capacities required by law. The team does not stop there, though. “We also provide strategies and tactics that managers may use to actually reduce impacts to the resources and potentially increase capacity,” Bill states. Trail design, access points, and other river features are brought into consideration with specific recommendations. “It’s a balancing act and we are often weighing different aspects of the river itself and the corridor to figure out where that capacity should be drawn from. A river may be designated because it holds a variety of outstandingly remarkable value, including recreation, wildlife, geology, or hydrology—there are a variety of values for which a river may actually be recognized. And those are the values we have to protect or improve upon.”

The capacity portion of the management plans is often a challenging part of the planning process for a given wild and scenic river. As one of the few firms providing visitor use and planning services of this nature, Otak is uniquely positioned to fill the gap with the expertise of its VUPM team who have been solving capacity and land use issues for more than 20 years. Bill and the team are excited about the work they are now able to do together and the impact they can have helping to protect our conserved spaces. “We want to help these land use and planning agencies be able to get those plans done so that they’re in compliance with the law and better manage the resources for present and future generations.”

Disaster Relief Efforts: Bringing Life Back to Communities Devastated by Fire

When a historic fire season raged through Oregon in the fall of 2020, no one could have imagined the forest fires would raze entire communities to the ground. Particularly hard hit were the small towns and rural communities like those in the Santiam Pass and along the McKenzie River east of Eugene. Rebuilding will take considerable effort and time.

Otak has a long history of working with rural school districts managing bond programs and capital improvement projects and has developed relationships with school principals and super- intendants (often one and the same in smaller districts). So, when the McKenzie School District (MSD), which serves 220 K-12 students, was caught in the fires, it struck home for Stephen Wasserberger, Senior Project Manager at DAY CPM, an Otak Division.

“Just driving through there is mind-boggling, absolutely mind-boggling,” Stephen stated when describing a recent visit to the area. “And then as you start to get to the areas where the residences are burned and all the buildings are gone, it’s just heartbreaking.”

Destruction Outside the Scope of School Bond

The MSD was already seeking approval of a 15 million dollar bond when the forest fires came through, leveling many homes, businesses, and community centers. The McKenzie High School lost the grandstand to the football field, a storage building, and a concession stand—structures outside the scope of the bond, which means any replacement funds are going to come from insurance money, FEMA, and state emergency grant money. With an understanding of replacement values and insurance, Stephen knew it was going to be a struggle to replace the structures, let alone fully fund new structures with updated designs and materials to match current building codes and standards.

The site of the grandstand before fire engulfed it.

“This is when I knew we could help. We could help the district get things off the ground and if we did this work pro-bono, we could save the district considerable costs, and really make a difference,” Stephen stated. “This is a community that’s been completely traumatized. They lost about four hundred homes. Teachers lost their homes. Obviously, students and families lost their homes. So stepping in to help was about doing the right thing, supporting a community, and supporting people who are in a really bad spot.” This goes to the heart of what Otak is about and the work the firm does transforming communities, so it was no surprise that Stephen was able to garner support for a pro bono project from his team and the rest of Otak.

Reconstruction: Otak and Contractors Stepping up to Help

For the past two months, Stephen has been acting as Owner’s Rep for MSD on the reconstruction project, working with district leaders guiding them through the whole design and construction document process, as well as cost projections and funding, and securing contractor bids through an RFP process. Stephen has also taken the time to dive into various aspects of proposed designs, working with Soderstrom Architects and contractors to keep costs down while delivering new structures that will best serve the district and the community. Many of the contractors involved in the project had personal ties to the community and they were eager to be involved. Soderstrom, who has also provided pro bono work on the architectural plans for the grandstands, had already been working with MSD to provide facilities assessments for the bond.

The next step is garnering all of the necessary permits to begin construction. Although Lane County has waived permit fees, the process still takes time. Completion of the new grandstand, storage shed, and concessions stand—all of which will be constructed of non-combustible materials—is projected for the fall of 2022. For a small community like McKenzie, that day cannot come soon enough. “They want their grandstands back,” Stephen expressed. “Sports is a galvanizer and Friday night football is part of the community. It brings people together and in a time where, you know, things aren’t so great, it’s a positive thing. Giving the kids and the families a chance to get out, to just do something fun—every community deserves that.”

We will chronicle this journey as work progresses along with feedback from the community. Stay tuned for the next installment.