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Board to contractor: School better be ready
Published October 22, 2009
The public school board made it abundantly clear Monday night that the new Garfield Elementary campus better be ready to move into in January.
“It is unacceptable not to have this school ready,” said San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees Vice President Stan Blackstone. “Whatever it is you have to do - get it done. We don't want any excuses.”
Blackstone's comments were directed at Templeton Construction contractor Jim Smith.
Architects had anticipated that an initial walk through of the campus could be conducted Oct. 16, but that has not happened.
The board faced similar issues with the North Heights Elementary renovation project, which was handled by a different general contractor.
That school was slated to open at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year, but after teachers began moving their classroom items, they were told school would start at the old campus and were forced to move back.
“This has happened before and we don't want any excuses,” said Blackstone.
“We realize that and we don't want the same black eye,” replied Smith.
Architects for the project have updated the board monthly, and were often skeptical that impending deadlines could be met.
To help reach those deadlines, subcontractors at the school have added extra manpower to the project.
Tom Ferrell, one of the district's architects, said if the workers continue at the pace he saw while inspecting the project, he felt the school would make its opening date.
“Can they do it? Yeah. Will it be done? The jury is still out on that one,” said Ferrell.
Smith said part of the problem has been getting the city's building inspection department to conduct timely reviews for permit issuances, but he remains optimistic that a certificate of occupancy will be granted by mid-November, allowing teachers to begin moving classroom items to the new campus.
“We do not have an option, it must be done. Make sure that momentum is ongoing daily,” said board president Raymond Meza.
Originally slated to open at the beginning of this school year, construction at the Garfield campus has been behind schedule almost since day one when contractors discovered unstable soil in the surrounding area.
The water table in the area was higher than originally expected and a series of stabilizing concrete pillars bored into the ground were required before a foundation could be constructed, which put the project months behind schedule.
The project, which will replace one of the district's oldest schools, is expected to cost the district more than $14.3 million.
The current Garfield campus, located off Las Vacas Street, has little room to grow and is regularly plagued by flooding during even moderate rainfall.
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