KALAMA — Twenty R.A. Long and Mark Morris high school students received insider treatment Tuesday afternoon, getting a glimpse of the new Kalama McMenamins location to build their interest in the construction trade.
“There’s a lot of interest generated in our community about this venue,” said Jill Diehl, the district’s director of career and college readiness. “It’s kind of fun for them to see that — not just the construction techniques, but what went into making it.”
Students started their tour by gathering around Luke Orem, a field engineer with construction firm JH Kelly, to examine the hotel’s blueprints. “The amount of people who touch this is pretty substantial,” he said. Every time the plans were changed, he continued, they had to be run past the whole team again.
Mark Morris junior Kendelle King said Orem’s description of the project’s engineering and planning were the highlights of the tour. As an adult, she hopes to have a similar job.
McMenamins’ four-story, 30,000-square foot restaurant and lodge sits along the Columbia River near the Port of Kalama marina. The building and its 40 guest rooms were inspired by the Pioneer Inn in Maui and feature an abundance of woodwork, from wood paneling to repurposed 100-year-old telephone poles.
McMenamins and the Port of Kalama are sharing the cost of the $10 million project. The port will recover its share — a $7 million investment — through its lease with McMenamins.
As the students approached the hotel, Orem noted that most projects “are seldom built as designed.” McMenamins’ Kalama Harbor Lodge is no exception.
Slated to open on April 20, the hotel had numerous additions, from little details like electrical outlets in the lounge to an extra storage room and a $350,000 cabin, which will house a cozy 20-person bar. Painters were at work while students weaved between boxes of light fixtures and ladders.
“We’re firing on all cylinders to get that done,” Orem said.
Using McMenamins as an example, Orem outlined how things move from concept and design to permitting and construction. Students toured the hotel’s brewery, kitchen, restaurant and lounges as Orem described how different crafts work together. To be able to use time efficiently and save labor costs, he said, “there are a lot of conversations on the front end.”
Opportunities are aplenty for students interested in the construction industry. A 2017 survey by the Associated General Contractors of America found that 75 percent of West Coast contractors are struggling to fill hourly craft positions. Locally, however, there is a shortage of construction work for the available workforce, said Rob Harris, vice president for JH Kelly.
“My goal is to throw out a lot of seeds in the hope that some mention of diverse career paths spark interest in some of the kids — or at least curiosity,” Orem told The Daily News. In fact, many of the students on the tour are already signed up for the district’s new pre-apprenticeship program, which starts in the fall.
“Some are already in construction tech classes. Some are in classes that lead toward that,” Diehl said. “They want to explore trades more because they’re thinking of it as a career.”
Mark Morris junior Steven Lenzi said he wasn’t sure how the program would work, but he’s already signed up.
“I want to get a feel for the industry,” he said, “so I’m not going in blind.”
Lenzi said that he’s interested in becoming a steamfitter or pipe-fitter. Fellow Mark Morris junior Gabe Heney said he is also signed up for the program, and he is thinking about a carpentry apprenticeship after graduation.
Starting in the fall, the Longview School District will launch a new pre-apprenticeship pathway program for 9th through 12th graders, offering classes in manufacturing trades, welding and fabrication, computer aided drafting and design and construction. By 12th grade, students will participate in worksite learning internships with JH Kelly and local trade unions.
“It’s not just a class — it’s a program we’re developing that will help kids get right into apprenticeship programs (after graduation),” Diehl said.
