Page 10 – Otak

Jon Nyone Stands Ready to Grow Otak’s International Reach

Sometimes a great hire, one who stands to be a key in the remaking of an organization, comes from the least likely of places. This was the case for Jon Nyone, Otak’s International Market Sector Leader who was watching his younger sister’s soccer game when he happened to meet Joshua Dodson, Senior Project Manager at DAY CPM. That meeting started an internship that rolled into seven-plus years of work beginning with DAY CPM and then eventually OTAK, and on to where Jon is today, ready to advance into the technology revolution of sorts for Otak’s international work.

Jon credits his rise in career to Otak’s willingness and encouragement for him to take the lead on some large, high-profile projects. As an intern, he was involved with the Collaborative Life Sciences Building on Portland’s waterfront where he worked with owners from OHSU, OSU, and Portland State to manage, primarily, the vast portfolio of medical equipment. Four years after the start of the Portland building, work was complete and Jon was no longer just an intern. He said learning how to navigate the sometimes tricky politics of such a public building was critical and provided him lifelong skills to tap into.

He jokes that Otak management asked “what else can we dump on Jon,” but he recognizes the diverse experience he’s had right from the start of his career. The list of projects he was able to work on in a short period of time directly contributed to being able to grow quickly.

While Jon was not looking for an international career, he had studied and presented on the framework of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) construction method and that happened to be what Otak was looking to introduce in a proposal for a project in Korea. “I had studied and presented on it and had lived it on a few different projects I worked on so I had lots of hands-on education, but who would have known, five years later, I’d be traveling to Korea to present on it,” Jon said.

Jon took three week-long trips to Korea where he learned the challenges of working within a different culture on medical research and pharmaceutical development center. The purpose was to incorporate and help the team apply IPD principles into the processes of their projects. It was a huge learning experience, particularly as most of the team had no familiarity with IPD. My boss had a deep trust in me, but it was nerve-wracking, to say the least. What it takes to put one of these together is a huge effort. You can’t underestimate the difficulty of something like that,” he said.

With some new experience under his belt, Jon is now tackling the next new thing that he says has the potential to bring great growth for Otak on the international front. “We’re on the verge of some exciting developments in the technology sector,” he said. Jon and his team are working on the unification of the global strategy with Otak’s partner firms to enter into the mission-critical market on some large-scale, global projects. He demurred on offering any more information as the planning process is proceeding.

“Jon never shies away from a challenge and in fact seems innately drawn towards projects defined by their complexity. It makes him a keen match for leading our International practice and advancing projects with global impact. He’s a pacesetter that keeps the rest of us sharp with an ability to drive collaboration and engineer best practices for others to not only follow, but also build and continually develop on,” said Sarah Oaks, Operation Manager for DAY CPM.

Over his years at DAY CPM and now Otak, Jon says he’s developed a good history of how the company has operated, what works and what doesn’t. He feels he’s been able to help the organization bridge some legacy conditions and translate those into tangible strategic shifts to help position Otak for sustainability and future growth. But overall, he credits his success to the teams he works with. “I have a deep appreciation for the team dynamic and putting the whole before the individual, but not losing sight of the uniqueness we each bring to the table. It’s a blessing to work with so many people much smarter than me.” His knack for getting along with others and his flexible and adaptable approach fit the mold for future international project success.

Mike Day—Empowering Teams To Build A Bright Future

Change is part of any company, but it’s the plans and actions taken in anticipation of a transition that differentiates those that thrive on the new from those that just can’t adapt. As DAY CPM joined forces with Otak and becomes a part of the Otak brand, Mike Day is a central component of ushering in a bright and successful future.

With a long history of experience in project management, from his days as a construction contractor to his roles as project manager and on to being the founder of DAY CPM, Mike brings a lot to the table. But it’s not just the skills he’s picked up along the way, it is also his philosophy of how team dynamics make or break a project, that has made him a critical part of Otak’s strategic plan.

Mike set his views on teamwork based on an experience from his work as a general contractor when he was part of a team for an OSU College of Forestry project. The architects, contractors, and the school worked closely together throughout the complex project and delivered on time and under budget with a high level of trust from the client. Mike recalls that the team came together at the project’s completion to celebrate and people were crying happy tears. It was that camaraderie—how they connected both personally and professionally—that he credits with the project’s success and ultimately realized he wanted to have as an outcome on every future project.

Mike is able to make that happen as he has transitioned from his position as president into the role of consultant to support the ongoing legacy of both DAY CPM and Otak. In this capacity, he has stepped up to lead the oversight of the Multnomah County Library bond project that was won by Otak in the first quarter of 2021. “I was attracted to this project because it filled a need for the underserved communities who will benefit from the education, learning centers, career development, and all the services that a library provides,” he said.

DAY CPM has worked as PM/CM on several bond programs over the last few years, including a variety of K-12 renovations and new construction. This experience has built their teams’ skill and confidence in undertaking bond projects that are such a critical piece to communities and put the company in a prime position to win the library project. It was decided that Mike would be best suited to take on the job of point person, to be the liaison to the county and the library, because the role fits well with his experience and background.

Multnomah County set forth program principles for its capital bond that frame the community’s desired outcomes including equity, accessibility, community resilience, and partnership, topped by a design that is flexible, innovative, and inspirational. These principles were found from a long-visioning process to ensure the community gets what it wants and needs.

To achieve these goals, Mike will stick to what he knows works best—empowering the team. He champions an open and safe work environment where people share ideas and know they are heard. To this end, Mike has introduced to the project an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) process which is based on the idea of building high functioning teams through a foundation of trust, transparency, and teamwork. In IPD, teams are encouraged to debate ideas but commit to final decisions and then hold each other accountable to the plan of action. For Mike, the ultimate goal is to achieve results that will help clients realize their visions and dreams—ideally on time and under budget.

“Projects generally fail when there’s a communication breakdown. Having a truly integrated team has been a core driver for me. It is what we built into our culture and what we will continue to create,” he said.

Colorado Region Leader Chris Bisio is Driving a Vision of Growth by Navigating Change

Every organization whether hiring its first employee, moving to a bigger building, or expanding into other locations, experiences growing pains. Business as usual cannot be the norm if true growth is to occur. Successfully navigating change takes a flexible staff and skilled leadership.

Otak’s office in Colorado faced those growing pains but has been fortunate to hire Chris Bisio who has been leading the way as the office adds more staff and capabilities while continuing to do work for clients it has supported for several decades

With more than 30 years of experience, Chris was the ideal candidate to take on the role of regional manager. She came to Otak from CH2M, another engineering firm with Oregon roots that was purchased by Jacobs in 2017. “The fact Otak was also based in Oregon was special to me, and I wanted to be in a smaller firm so I could be closer to the clients and everything that’s going on,” she said. When Chris started her career the number of men in the engineering world vastly exceeded that of women. But while Chris has been called a pioneering woman in a field of men, she said she always felt she had a right to be at the table and that if anyone did good work they would be recognized equally. For her, it just happened that she was a woman, but she does like seeing more and more women entering the field.

Chris joined Otak in 2019 at a time when the company was in expansion mode following the acquisition of Loris and Associates in Colorado in 2017. Her focus then and now is on project management, profitability, and the basics, which she calls hiring good staff, doing good work, and having a good culture.

She said Otak surprised her because it had corporate functions such as accounting/finance, human resources, and business development that were of the same caliber as the larger firms she was familiar with. This functionality allows Otak’s employees to see possibilities beyond what people in a smaller environment might see. “We have staff that’s as good or better than that of bigger companies,” she said.

This is not to say there haven’t been challenges. She said that there are 30 people in the Colorado office who all work in the same office but in different groups, which sometimes makes it hard to keep everyone on the same page. Chris said introducing a more proactive stance on projects as they develop has helped avoid some issues down the road. “The worst thing that can happen is to not deliver for a client or to have a technical glitch, so we’re trying to do more check-in’s on how we’re doing along the way so we find problems early and can solve them before they get bigger,” she said.

As regional manager, Chris wears many hats from project management to business development to taking care of staff (including hiring). She thrives on the variety and especially appreciates that her position allows her to dig into all the work that occurs on some level so that she’s able to step into the shoes of her co-workers to see their point of view. For Chris, leadership is about listening, understanding, and modeling behavior to help guide the team towards the same vision of where the company and office are going and could go.

One of Chris’s favorite projects to date has been the Coffman Street Busway in Longmont, Colorado. The Otak team won the job in large part because of the expertise on similar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects in the Redmond office. Chris said it’s a great example of how Otak is an attractive choice for municipalities because it retains so many diverse and skilled disciplines for a company of its size. The Colorado office was able to tap into the knowledge base of the Redmond office to create a winning proposal that incorporated multi-modal transportation into just a one-mile stretch. “The client gave a specific vision of an exemplary multi-modal project in a mid-sized town. When I hear a client say that he wants it to be special, I take that to heart in that we’re responsible for helping him meet his dream,” Chris said.

With Chris providing the guidance, the Colorado office is regularly turning client dreams into reality.

A Community Gathering Place Is Reborn

DuBois Park is a mature residential neighborhood filled with single-family homes that date between the 1950s and 1970s. The neighborhood was named for the 3.5 acre DuBois Park that is an integral part of the community. The City of Vancouver Parks and Recreation Department, as part of its Master Plan, identified the need to renovate the park for safer and better use by the residents. In early 2019, the City contracted with Otak to participate in the public engagement sessions to gain insight into priorities for the residents and then to design the park, and oversee construction.

David Haynes took on the dual role of landscape architect and project manager and said while he worked closely with the project manager for the City, Otak was given free rein for the design. “We were very cognizant that the ideas we developed needed to work with the City’s long-term maintenance capabilities,” David said.

Otak and the City hosted two public meetings as open houses at the park site. The City and Otak’s project managers co-led the events with the City discussing background processes and funding sources, while David introduced design concepts and implementation. The first meeting was to gather ideas from the residents and the second was to show them the design concepts that came out of the meeting. “We developed options of how the park could be laid out and talked about the pros and cons of each. Residents chose to mix and match different aspects that they were shown and we put those results into a final plan,” David said.

David added that Otak was committed to addressing comments and concerns, which, in one case, resulted in setting the basketball court a couple of feet below the surrounding grade to help attenuate the noise of bouncing basketballs.

In the final version, Otak designed an improved playground, a loop trail around the perimeter of the park, an irrigation system to feed the new lawn areas, and a trellis as a gateway attraction. One distinctive feature is an embankment around the swingsets consisting of large boulders that kids can climb over. “The City project manager relied on us to select and place boulders. He was uncertain about how it would come together but was pleased with the result,” David said.

The Otak team has a fondness for park projects because they are viewed as foundational to a strong community and allow for plenty of creativity that a design team relishes. “That’s what planning and design are about—creating neighborhoods that people enjoy living in. Park projects are powerful in creating a sense of community,” David reflected.

The park had a soft opening in December 2020 and there are plans for an official ribbon-cutting this spring.

Cristina Haworth Embraces New Challenges To Learn and Grow

Some may argue that great leaders are simply born that way, but others believe leaders are made from their experiences. Otak chooses the latter embracing the idea that any of their employees could learn the skills, face the challenges, and foster the relationships to grow into a leadership position.

Senior Planner, Cristina Haworth has been experiencing those growth opportunities within Otak’s Redmond office for the past seven years and relishes all that she has been able to do and accomplish in a relatively short time. She started as more of a technical professional completing tasks such as land use reviews, but says her work and responsibilities have greatly expanded which she credits to the support of her managers and the willingness of her co-workers to “put up with my learning experiences.” The wealth of new and interesting challenges she faces each day, keep her motivated and incredibly enthused about the work she does.

Cristina calls her decision to enter the field of planning a “happy accident.” She was working her way through the prerequisites she needed as a student in the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments and fell in love with an urban planning class. “I liked working in the built environment, but the broader scale of planning was really appealing,” she said.

Upon completion of graduate school, Cristina took a planning position in Fairbanks, Alaska. After ten cold and mostly dark months, she realized she wanted to return to Washington and leaned on a former professor and mentor to help her find her way back. She was introduced to Otak’s Mandi Roberts and Chad Weiser,(both Vice Presidents and Principals) in what she thought would be an informational interview, and she soon found herself employed.

Since her initial hiring, Cristina has worked on a variety of projects. Recently she wrapped up code amendments for Lake Forest Park that has been an ongoing project over several years, the completion of which she calls a huge milestone for Otak. One of the first projects she managed on her own was for the City of Bothell in amending their housing codes. This was one of her favorites as the City Council and Planning Commission were consistently looking for more housing units and flexibility to reduce parking requirements. One of the added provisions was to allow duplexes on corner lots in single-family zoning districts, which would help create more affordable housing options. As a result of her work, the City is considering allowing triplexes and fourplexes on corner lots and allowing duplexes on any single-family lot.

Early on, Cristina had a unique opportunity to learn the inner-workings of city planning. She was part of Otak’s on-call planning team where she would become a part of, or in some cases, the entire planning staff for a city that didn’t have staff available. For example, she worked for the development services director as the city planner for the City of Medina. “I had a workstation there and worked directly with design teams, property owners, applicants, residents, and other interested parties on what was happening in their neighborhoods. It was a great way to connect with the client and the community,” she said. She also said it was a great way to build business as co-workers’ comments around the watercooler about problems they faced gave her a chance to offer solutions. She said she never approached it as business development or marketing, but rather offering assistance to a client with a challenge.

Cristina has also been working with the City of Lynnwood to audit and provide guidance for an update of their comprehensive plan. “We’re providing recommendations for how they’ll incorporate community building and resilience throughout the plan which wasn’t originally a focus but they are now looking to make that a fundamental piece going forward,” she said. These areas are priorities for Cristina who studied adaptability in the face of climate change as part of her graduate school work and has since come to recognize that every city needs to study resilience both in terms of natural disasters and socioeconomic factors.

The breadth and depth of Cristina’s skills provide an asset to Otak and its clients, and her ongoing willingness and ambition to constantly learn more put her on track to lead projects and teams at Otak for years to come.

Collaboration and Coordination Bring Skyview Station to Construction

Skyview Station in Salmon Creek, Washington was an underutilized, light industrial site that sat amidst a fast-growing community. Hurley Development saw an opportunity to turn this piece of property into a retail center to serve the local population. To accomplish this goal, Hurley realized the need and importance of an experienced and sophisticated consultant who could handle the development complexity and myriad permits required. Hurley turned to the Vancouver office of Otak, and the leadership of Tim Leavitt, PE, Regional Director of Civil Design.

Otak’s multi-disciplined team of planners, surveyors, engineers, and landscape architects offer the experience and depth to efficiently solve the site challenges and design a project that was readily approved by the presiding agencies. “We offered our client recent experience with another project adjacent to this site, as well as solid and collaborative working relationships with the numerous agencies having jurisdiction here,” said Leavitt, who also served as the Otak Project Manager for the Skyview Station project.

Projects like Skyview Station, located in unincorporated Clark County, required coordination with multiple jurisdictions.“This was a real team effort. Agency staff were supportive and proactive. The permitting process was quite constructive, from start to finish,” according to Leavitt. The labyrinth of permitting included reviews and approvals by Washington State Department of Transportation, Clark Public Utilities, Clark Regional Wastewater District, Clark County Fire District #6, and Clark County.

Permitting was one complexity. The other challenge was the existing conditions. One access point to the commercial center is from the NE 139th Street overpass, constructed and owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). This overpass was constructed on Geofoam, a nontypical foundation system that allows large and heavy structures to be constructed in undesirable soil conditions (e.g., wetlands). Otak’s structural engineers, civil engineers, and the geotechnical engineer-of-record designed an access ramp that ensured the new improvement would not impact the complex overpass foundation system and would be acceptable to WSDOT. Another existing conditions complication was the site elevations, which dropped over 20 feet across the property. To ensure accessibility and flat building pads, Otak’s structural engineering team designed a gabion retaining wall along the eastern property line, with heights ranging from 2-18 feet.

The project received final agency approvals in December 2019. But…it wasn’t quite time to begin construction. In lieu of a new signalized intersection at the main site entry, Clark County Public Works and Transportation requested that Hurley instead consider a roundabout improvement. Hurley agreed, and after the execution of a Development Agreement, Otak was asked to design a roundabout and related site and frontage improvements.

As Leavitt described, “The footprint of a roundabout is larger than a signalized intersection. Our initial challenge was to locate and design a roundabout that did not impact neighboring properties and minimized impact to the Skyview Station site layout. Working closely with Clark County transportation staff, we quickly solved that challenge, and moved forward with the permit documents.”

Although approving of the change in plans, Hurley wanted to minimize the design and permitting timeline for the roundabout improvement. Otak was ready for the challenge of bringing together a complex change under a tight timeframe. With agreement from Clark County, regular update meetings occurred to review the design advancement and address comments, questions, and concerns in real-time. “This public road improvement is extremely important to both the County and Hurley, so the attitude was “all hands on deck”, said Leavitt.

Otak’s in-house development professionals enabled a quick transition to the new design and permitting effort. Design efforts were led by Phil Hymas, PE (roadway), Scott Nettleton, PE (structures), Rose Horton, PE (stormwater), Brad Swearingen, PE (site engineering), and David Haynes, PLA (landscape architecture). All told, 15 Otak professionals dove into this project headfirst and worked together to bring the project to fruition, resulting in what will be a vibrant new commercial center for local residents, as well as an important local improvement to the public roadway system.

Reinventing City Hall: New Lake Oswego Public Services Building

The newly constructed City Hall and public building in Lake Oswego, OR is redefining the way the city engages with its residents. With transparency and a welcoming public interface acting as the guiding principles behind the building’s design, Lake Oswego is following a growing trend among municipalities across the US and abroad.1 A trend that embraces the concept of multi-purpose public buildings, and city halls in particular, as community hubs where the public can more easily engage with elected officials and have better access to municipal services.

At the same time, Lake Oswego’s new public building is an example of Northwest regional style, engineering, and technology meeting the urgent need for improved public and employee health safety, energy efficiency, communications, and streamlined operations.

Providing Cost-effective solutions.

Lake Oswego’s previous City Hall, public services, and the police/911 dispatch center were housed in an outdated building constructed in 1987 with synthetic stucco. The building was deteriorating due to water intrusion issues and the ongoing maintenance costs were rising. The public interface was less than ideal with labyrinthian design and little open community space. Technology and equipment upgrades for the 911 call center were also needed. Renovating the existing building could have solved some of the issues, but in the long run, would have missed the greater opportunity to reduce operating costs, better serve the public, and offer more opportunities for community engagement.

When DAY CPM, a division of Otak, was hired by the City of Lake Oswego as Owner’s Representative, the options being considered at the time were to renovate the existing building or construct two new buildings to house the police department in one, and City Hall in another. Otak’s team, under the leadership of David Lintz, Senior Project Manager, took a collaborative approach working closely with city staff and leadership, as well as Mackenzie Architects and general contractor Howard S Wright. The team also solicited public input. After considering multiple scenarios and the cost-benefits of each, and weighing these against the city’s broader vision of creating a true community center, the third option emerged.

Rather than demolish the existing City Hall and police department building, a new energy-efficient building, that represented a Northwest regional style with modern amenities, would be constructed on the site immediately adjacent to the existing building. In addition to being the most cost-effective solution, leaving the existing structure intact during the construction of the new building allowed City Hall to remain open and the various departments, including finance, courts, planning, building, engineering, the city attorney’s office, public affairs, IT, and the city manager’s office, as well as the police/911 operations, to continue uninterrupted.

The new City Hall will open in March after all new furniture has been delivered, allowing city employees to enjoy a smooth transition into a fully operational new space with minimal disruption. Once the existing building has been vacated, it will be demolished, making way for a public plaza and additional public parking, which will be completed later this year in August. The new civic plaza will further establish Lake Oswego’s City Hall as a true community hub.

Improving health safety and energy efficiencies.

Health safety was a top priority from the start and the arrival of the pandemic in 2020 only served to heighten the sense of urgency. The new building’s design includes advanced air filtration throughout providing better air quality for building occupants and visiting public. Energy efficiency has also been greatly improved through the building’s engineering design, technology, and materials used, as well as the installation of solar panels and systems that will reduce operating costs.

Stepping into the future.

The new building may be a bold step into the future, but it is also steeped in practical solutions. The city has effectively reimagined City Hall into a multi-purpose building with an inviting public interface that also includes public common areas and a home for the city’s Arts Council and Booktique. The open gallery design, a break from traditional government building design, is welcoming to the public who now have greater access to the various departments and the people who serve the community. There are public-facing conference rooms and a large community room that can easily be partitioned off to accommodate court proceedings, or council chambers. Gender-neutral bathrooms have replaced traditional bathrooms, remaining in step with current societal norms.

The building design also takes advantage of the different elevations of the site. City Hall and the various city offices are accessible from the street level on A Avenue side of the building, while the Police Department, which sits on the lower level, is accessible from 4th Street on the opposite side of the building.

In the end, Lake Oswego’s new City Hall provides a much improved public interface, increased government transparency, and opportunities for greater community engagement. It is a welcoming space for citizens, elected officials, and public servants to come together in new ways to better serve the interests of the community as a whole.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90386553/the-community-hub-of-the-future-isnt-a-library-or-a-shopping-center-its-city-hall

Innovative Pedestrian Bridges Connect University of Colorado Campus to Neighborhoods and Nature

With the opening of the 19th Street & 23rd Street pedestrian bridges in Boulder, the University of Colorado (CU) has not only created better ADA compliant connectivity between the campus and the surrounding community but now has an iconic landmark that will help define the campus’s identity for decades to come. These two innovative pedestrian bridges, designed by Otak Colorado’s structural team, in coordination with CU Facilities Staff and Design Review Board, are the culmination of engineering ingenuity and practical problem solving incorporating lessons learned as the first of the two bridges (23rd Street) was being constructed.

CU’s main Boulder campus is separated from areas containing student housing and residential neighborhoods by Boulder Creek, the Boulder Creek Trail, a riparian corridor, and a 30 to 60-foot-tall elevation differential. Otak was retained by CU to design two bridges at 23rd and 19th Streets, with a primary goal to provide ADA compliant, user-friendly connections, between the main campus and areas north of the creek. The design team was also charged with the need to integrate bridge design with the surrounding natural environment and provide a level of aesthetics commensurate with CU’s flagship university.

What the university envisioned was a “bridge through the canopy,” weaving pedestrians through trees and connecting them to the natural beauty and wildlife in the area, while efficiently getting them to where they need to go. These bridges replace steep pathways that required pedestrians to literally huff it up a lung-pumping 20% grade, which was difficult to maintain and dangerous during winter conditions.

The overall project involved the design and construction of the 23rd Street Bridge, completed in 2018, and the 19th Street Bridge, completed in 2020. Project manager, Dan Beltzer, P.E., in Otak’s Colorado office, oversaw the design of the two bridges, guiding the project from inception through successful completion. David Graff, P.E., served as the project engineer and oversaw the bridges’ construction. The two bridges offer practical solutions for pedestrian traffic, while also preserving the natural environment and wildlife along Boulder Creek—two primary concerns for CU. The two bridges were constructed sequentially, each taking about 10-months to complete; both were on time and on budget.

One of the unique aspects of the project was the progression of the design and engineering over the course of the two bridges. As they were constructed sequentially, rather than concurrently, the team was able to refine the design for the 19th Street Bridge and incorporate changes based on lessons learned from the 23rd Street Bridge. Since the design of the second bridge occurred during the construction of the first, the team was able to get real-time feedback and make modifications that would be better suited to the challenges of the second location.

For both bridges, the design team considered different alignments to find the optimum balance between cost, aesthetics, ease of construction and minimizing site impacts, especially along the steep and marginally stable hillside. As they were also charged with mandates to avoid significant tree removal, preserve historic rock walls, and create a path that was pleasing to the user, the resulting design essentially weaves across the creek and up the hillside through the abundant canopy of trees. Keeping the bridge at a height that is not overly tall and vertically imposing also steered the alignment.

To minimize fabrication efforts and construction costs, a series of identical straight 30-foot steel beam spans were designed at the maximum ADA compliant slope to climb grade as quickly as possible. Each pier provides an ADA landing that also serves as a turning point for the pathway to provide a sinusoidal effect, creating an overall curve shape out of a series of straight lines. The piers are supported by a single concrete column founded on either a caisson or a micropile foundation, depending on the terrain. Custom railings were developed using stainless steel handrails; weathering steel plates, pipes, tubes; and stainless-steel cables to minimize materials and limit obstruction to views of the natural beauty of the surrounding environment. The resulting effect has given the bridges a “light and airy” feeling and allows users to connect to the nature surrounding the bridge.

Bridge lighting is provided by LED lights mounted flush in the handrails that shine down onto the deck surface. This configuration directs light only towards the pathway where it is needed and minimizes glare into the riparian surroundings. Sensors at the ends of the bridges increase lighting intensity when pedestrians are present and dim lighting otherwise.

The 23rd Street Bridge connects the Buff Walk (the path between Folsom Field and the athletic center) to the Boulder Creek Path and Parking Lot 169, a popular tailgating area on game day. At the top of this bridge is a large landing that allows people to gather for game day activities and view the Flatiron formations west of the city and riparian corridor below. To provide an ample landing area atop the steep hillside, a retaining wall with high-density styrofoam blocks was used as backfill to reduce earth pressures and provide the necessary wall stability.

One key difference and a lesson applied from the 23rd Street Bridge to the 19th Street Bridge are the configurations of the pier landings. The 23rd Street Bridge incorporates thin concrete bearing seats for the bridge spans to sit upon, while the 19th Street Bridge provides a sleeker profile by eliminating this bearing seat and framing the bridge spans directly to the concrete landings via a steel landing connection frame. This configuration also allowed for easier fit-up of the bridge spans and railing.

Construction of the 19th Street Bridge also presented a unique set of challenges, different from the bridge at 23rd Street. The natural environment around both bridges is home to a plethora of wildlife, including foxes, deer, and numerous species of birds. In fact, the canopy surrounding the 19th Street Bridge has the highest number of bird species in Boulder County, so the design needed to also appease bird watchers. A large landing with a bench is included at the mid-point on the bridge to facilitate bird-watching or to just take a rest and enjoy the surroundings. The portion of the bridge spanning Boulder Creek also contains patterned markings in the concrete slab to celebrate the flow of the water below.

History played its part in the design process as well, presenting both preservation challenges and opportunities to celebrate the area’s past. A previous bridge crossing at the 23rd Street Bridge location was historic but had to be removed to achieve necessary hydraulic improvements. The historic masonry abutments were allowed to remain, and interpretive signage has been added at this bridge’s location so the community can see pictures of and read about the site as it once existed. Many historic elements are also visible from the 19th Street Bridge, including an old warming hut used when the area between Boulder Creek and the hillside would be intentionally flooded in the winter for ice skating. Historic stonework is also visible along the banks of Boulder Creek, placed there from 1938–1940 by workers associated with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program created by the Roosevelt Administration to give unemployed Americans the opportunity to help with public works. The stonework is easily observed from the new bridge, reintroducing pedestrians to these historic elements that were previously difficult to access and obscured from view.

Together, the bridges provide much-needed connectivity between CU’s main campus, the neighborhoods to the north, and the rest of Boulder via the creek path. But the bridges also provide the desired connection with nature and history. Pedestrians now have both a pathway to get to where they need to go and an opportunity to be immersed in the creek corridor’s wilderness along the way. In the end, Otak and CU were able to deliver two iconic bridges that will be a part of the University’s identity for generations.

Sarah Oaks—A True Team Leader

True leaders do not reach the pinnacle of success by stepping on the backs of others, but rather by recognizing the contributions of those that surround and support them. Projects, particularly in design and construction, are completed through the skills and talents of teams. Sarah Oaks, operations manager for DAY CPM, not only recognizes this herself but works tirelessly to make sure others see that success comes from the efforts of many.

While she may seem the perfect fit for her role as operations manager, Sarah did not arrive here directly. “I graduated at the peak of the recession with a degree in architecture, jobs were hard to find,” she said. Driven by her positive experience doing community service while in college, she started to look at AmeriCorps and discovered an opportunity through that organization with Portland Public Schools. She initially worked on sustainability research and bond planning efforts but was soon able to get a taste of project management work when Marysville K-8 suffered a fire and required a partial rebuild. While her architecture education was more focused on design, and the outward appearance of buildings, she found project management offered more opportunities to creatively influence the what and why behind them and advocate for the end-user. Being able to work on projects that were cornerstones of the community and impacted so many families also resonated deeply with Sarah and ignited a passion for stakeholder engagement and communications.

With that experience under her belt, Sarah joined DAY CPM as a project manager. For one of her first projects, Sarah was a leading member of the team that worked on the Tigard-Tualatin school bond that passed in 2016. In that role she worked with District leadership, coordinated project teams, developed standards for consistent project execution, and led the creation of the stakeholder engagement plan. She credits her success in this role in large part to strong alignment with the client’s needs up front and establishing trust with them through proactive communication, strong representation of their interests, and consistent delivery. Sarah was also challenged by her first leadership role managing a large project management team. “It was a steep learning curve navigating how to respond to the needs of each person and balance my own responsibilities at the same time. I appreciate the patience and grace my team extended to me–that experience was formative and taught me a lot,” she said.

Last spring, Sarah met with Henry Alaman, senior vice president, who joined the company around the same time she returned from maternity leave. “He made an effort to talk to everyone about key priorities they wanted to see him focus on and narrowed in on three that were most critical for staff. In that first conversation, we found a lot of common themes and potential focus areas but one near and dear to my heart was that we lacked a formal mentorship program,” she said.

As the company was rapidly growing it had become more challenging to see who was doing what, what was being accomplished, and who needed help. Over the past year, a concerted effort was made to build a mentorship program by identifying mentors, determining the structure, and convincing staff of the benefits to them personally and to the company. The mentorship program officially launched in November 2020. “It’s been incredible to give more visibility to what people are doing on their projects and find out what else they want to learn. We’re able to provide recognition for folks who were flying under the radar,” she said.

With her great strides both internally and externally for DAY CPM, Sarah was promoted to operations manager. She was honored by the promotion and recognizes that she is in a somewhat unique position. “Right now, there are not a lot of other women at my level in the construction industry. It’s very important that it’s not just me occupying this space and taking it for granted. I want to make sure I don’t stay up here alone.” With that in mind, Sarah works hard to give visibility and opportunity to all employees, and ensuring title, salaries, and opportunities are steeped in merit. She’s pleased with the willingness of DAY CPM to self-examine where they succeed and where there’s room for growth.

Sarah’s work has not gone unnoticed. This past fall she was recognized by the Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC) as a 2020 Phenom under their Phenoms & Icons Award. While honored to receive the award, she’s quick to point out that she did not rise to where she is without a lot of support.

DAY CPM Oversees Expansive Bond for Tigard-Tualatin School District

The Tigard-Tualatin School District passed a $291M bond in the fall of 2016 and turned to DAY CPM to oversee the bond program, putting together the teams that would lead the extensive effort needed to rebuild, renovate and construct schools for the 12,700 students in the district.

Joshua Dodson was tapped for Bond Program Oversight and is assisted by a bond Program Manager Debbie Pearson and a team of DAY CPM project managers, as is needed due to the long-term schedule of the bond. Work began in 2016 and is scheduled to be fully complete by the fall of 2023.

The overall project includes rebuilding three of the district’s oldest schools—Templeton ES, Twality MS, and the oldest portions of Tigard HS. In addition, classrooms are being added to Tigard and Tualatin HS and Durham Education Center, particularly to add areas for STEM curriculums. A new elementary school, Art Rutkin ES is being constructed, overall safety and security of the schools is being enhanced, and scheduled facility repairs are being completed such as new roofs and HVAC upgrades. Finally, new technology, textbooks, and a digital curriculum are being purchased to ensure the schools meet current and future technological demands.

Joshua said a highlight of the work at Tigard High School, and an example of the flexible spaces that schools are embracing, is the creation of learning steps, both inside and outside, that mimic auditorium or theater seats and can hold about 500 students to sit or stand for events or for lunch, or just to do homework or socialize. “It’s a really large space. On one end of it, you can get from the ground floor up to the second story and students are looking out towards the wide-open space that holds the cafeteria. The space can be used for so many different things.” Joshua said.

DAY CPM worked with three major design firms, Bassetti Architects, Bora Architects, and IBI Group for the major builds and smaller design firms DECA Architecture and Oh Planning + Design, for more of the renovation work. Construction firms Triplett Wellman Construction, and P&C Construction have been responsible for most of the construction put in place. Small works construction firms Inline Commercial Construction, Fortis Construction, Benchmark Contracting, and Portland Road and Driveway Company round out the list of const

ruction partners.

With such a large group of partners, communication is essential which is where Joshua’s leadership comes in. He has more than 22 years of experience working on K12 bond programs, and particularly bond management. In his role overseeing the bond work, he makes sure the teams are functioning well and that the clients are happy with the work. “I make sure we are managing well to set the bond up for success. I was boots on the ground for many years on school projects so I’m able to assess and see quickly where adjustments need to be made and I can provide advice and support for the teams,” he said.

To date, $252M of work has been delivered on time and on budget with the new build of Rutkin Elementary School slated to be the final piece of the bond project.