Students in School District 43 will be the beneficiaries of a legacy of office furniture left behind by Kiewit Flatiron General Partnership as it winds down construction of the Port Mann Highway 1 project.
Hundreds of desks, chairs, filing cabinets, white boards and other office equipment have been transferred from the contractor building the $3.3-billion project to SD43 with much of it stored in two local gyms.
The job of stick-handling the furniture donation was done by Centennial secondary school graduate Scott Taylor, who is now a project engineer with Kiewit. He helped facilitate the move on behalf of Kiewit Flatiron with the support of project manager Lorne Caley.
"There's a lot of pride in helping the city you grew up in," Taylor acknowledged.
Typically, Kiewit Flatiron sells off equipment it no longer has use for after a job and as the bridge and highway projects are due for completion this year, offices are closing down, and used but solid furniture in good condition was looking for a home.
Taylor talked about the idea of the donation with his dad, Dave Taylor, a retiring SD43 administrator, and the two hatched a plan that got Caley's approval and a nod from their Kiewit Flatiron bosses.
SCHOOL DISTRICT GRATEFUL
Kiewit Flatiron hired a moving company to transfer the furniture to unused gyms at the former Ioco and Coronation Park schools, where it will be stored until it can be used by three new schools planned or under construction.
"We're extremely grateful for their generosity and that a company of this size is helping out the community," said board of education chair Melissa Hyndes as she donned a hard hat for a visit to one of the overpasses under construction in the Cape Horn interchange.
Todd Clerkson, Pitt River principal, said many of the chairs, office equipment and storage cabinets will be used by teachers when the $20-million replacement school opens this fall. The bonus, he said, is that money that would have been spent on teachers' chairs and desks can now be spent on other things the school needs, such as new bleachers.
"I don't have to buy those [desks and chairs] any more, the savings can go to other supplies and equipment," he said.
SD43 superintendent Tom Grant said other new schools coming on stream, such as replacements for Centennial secondary and Moody middle, and the new Eagle Mountain middle under construction in Anmore, may be able to use some of the equipment, too.
"The donation couldn't come at a better time," Grant said, noting that the equipment budget for rebuilt schools is small but their used furniture is often in rough shape.
As for Kiewit Flatiron, the donation is a sign its the mega-project that has been years in the planning and construction is coming to a conclusion; in fact, within weeks, new overpasses from the bridge into Coquitlam will open.
"It's a big job and a lot of people, and when a job is over, it's over," Kiewit's Caley said, adding that his company strives to be part of the community and the donation is one example of that commitment.
SCHOOLS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
New and replacement Tri-City public schools planned or under construction:
Eagle Mountain middle, Anmore: 500 students, $31.3 million, under construction, open in September 2014
PItt River middle, Port Coquitlam: 450 students, $20 million, opening this fall
Centennial secondary, Coquitlam: 1,250 students, construction is out to tender for the $49.6-million school, opens in September 2015
Moody middle, Port Moody: 450 students, working drawings to be completed this month
