Crews moving to new school transportation center

MOSES LAKE - Buses could be moving to the Moses Lake School District's new transportation center as early as this weekend. District Transportation Director John Eschenbacher said that's not a guarantee, but either way, parents shouldn't notice any difference.

"Our goal is the parents won't even know we moved," Eschenbacher said. Most of the work on the building is done, but the district doesn't have all the occupancy certificates necessary, he said, and there's no firm date for issuing them.

In the meantime, the transportation department will be conducting business as usual from the bus garage on Ivy Street. "We're ready to come right out of our old facility," Eschenbacher said.

Construction began on the $7.7 million project last fall. The project was funded through a consortium that also includes Wilson Creek, Soap Lake and Ephrata. The consortium partners can use the facility for bus maintenance, he said.

The existing bus garage was built in 1954 and modified in 1964, he said.

The new center is about 24,000 square feet, which leaves the district with room to grow the bus fleet, Eschenbacher said. The new bus parking lot has room for about 100 buses; currently the district has about 75 buses, he said.

The Moses Lake School Board will switch its meetings to the biggest of the meeting rooms, next to the public parking lot. That room can be enlarged by means of a moving wall, Eschenbacher said.

When the wall is removed the room is big enough for the transportation staff, and will be used for special occasions, he said.

"We're really excited about the training room," he said; previously district officials had to rent space around town for driver training. Actually there are two training rooms, one larger than the other, both with the capability to host video and online training.

There are offices for staff, lockers for the bus drivers and a central control room. But "the shop is probably the biggest thing," Eschenbacher said.

It's got maintenance space for up to eight buses, with two equipped with bus hoists, he said, and a space ready for a third hoist when it's needed. There's also a spot for a car hoist, he said

Each space has all equipment needed for maintenance, from oil lines to exhaust vents. There's a bus washing station outside and another inside. The shop floor is heated, and a portion of the exterior sidewalk is heated so there's an ice-free walkway around the building and out to the buses, Eschenbacher said.

And the whole place is wired. The new board room has speakers throughout, he said, and each training room is equipped with audio and video capability. The central office management system includes tracking via GPS.

The goal is to be able to notify parents if their bus is late, Eschenbacher said, but that program probably won't be operational until December or January.