WLC Architects will handle the design and spearhead the reconstruction of Colony Oak Elementary School.

The Ripon Unified school board approved the Folsom firm for work on the voter-approved Measure G project at Monday’s meeting. Voters authorized $25.2 million in bonds.

WLC is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga and has been around for over 40 years, expanding into Northern California in 1999 and opening the Folsom office some four years later.

According to Scott Gaudineer of Program Management Integration, WLC came at the recommendation of the Selection Committee for Colony Oak. He served as the facilitator to the process that started with nine qualified firms.

“We chose six from there including CT Brayton & Sons (they handled the recently completed Weston School renovation project),” said Gaudineer.

He added: “We gave the topics of interest (developed by PMI and approved by district staff) to each of the firms – they had approximately 10 days before the scheduled interviews to properly prepare.”

Prior to that, the firms had a chance to do a walk-through the campus and ask questions regarding various issues and existing conditions.

Interviews were conducted late last month at Ripon City Hall inside the Council Chambers’ conference room, with the Selection Committee whittling down the field to two a few days later.

“Site visits and reference checks were made by district staff,” Gaudineer said.

With the board approval, PMI and the district can now enter contract negotiations.

The plan calls for construction at Colony Oak to begin right before the start of the 2016-17 school year. That’s when the next series of bonds would be issued.