posted by Joe Polk at 1:16 AM /
Here's another article from guest blogger Bob Williams...
Mt. Lebanon School Board President Alan Silhol said an in-depth study submitted to the school board regarding the high school renovation project has been given to the architect for review, with a preliminary report expected later in August.
Furthermore, Silhol said Dirk Taylor has been contacted and asked to meet face-to-face with district architects to go over his study. Mr. Taylor has been a structural engineer for nearly 30 years, with extensive experience in school construction projects. For the past 15 years, Mr. Taylor has been Mt. Lebanon’s “go to” engineer for structural issues in all 10 school buildings.
Mr. Taylor’s examination of one of the schematic designs for the high school project raised several “red flags,” that to him warranted further study before going forward. Mr. Taylor was not critical of the board or of the need to renovate the high school. His concerns are that the board made decisions based on “incomplete or missing data,” and a full review of the facts should take place first.
The lengthy document Mr. Taylor prepared includes drawings and explanation of structural “red flag” issues he saw in his professional capacity. They include but are not limited to walking distances for students, classroom size, building size, temporary classroom pods, athletic spaces and LEED certification.
Mr. Silhol said Mr. Taylor is respected at the district, and has been contacted and asked whether he would meet with the district architects to go over his concerns.
“Yes, we have taken a look at it, and yes, we have given a copy to our architect,” Mr. Silhol said. “I’m glad he did it (the analysis). If he is right, I am all for incorporating his recommendations into the design. He has taken a very long, thoughtful look at the process. We in turn should take a hard look at his study.
“What I would really like to see, is that Dirk to sit with our architects one-on-one and talk about these issues. He (Mr. Taylor) is a smart guy. He knows the building. I don’t agree 100% with everything he said, but there’s no reason we can’t incorporate some of this into the project,” Mr. Silhol said.
Silhol added he isn’t sure which version of the schematic design Mr. Taylor reviewed. He said the walking distance estimates, which Mr. Taylor said were the same or even worse in the proposed building, go completely afoul of what the board was told by former Superintendent John Allison.
“John personally went through the plans, the school, doing measurements,” Mr. Silhol said. “The figures we were given by Dirk are completely opposite of that, and we need to look at those again and try to reach consensus.”
Silhol said he is not happy with the $115 million cost figure the board has been given to renovate the high school.
“We’d like to get figures closer to reality based on today’s values. I’m not happy with $115 million, I’m not happy with $100 million either. We need to get these numbers down further. We are in the middle of a recession. The numbers we’ve seen so far are just too high,” Mr. Silhol said.
He may have reason to expect lower costs.Upper St. Clair just received bids for the middle schools renovation project which were 20 percent under estimate. With a $60-$70 million estimate in USC, 20 percent is a substantial reduction in the budget.
Silhol said the board is presently awaiting a report on geotechnical studies, which will show whether the area slated for the new wing can sustain the building. While not a determinative factor, the geo tech studies from the natatorium several years ago were not entirely favorable, he said.
Mr. Taylor is apparently on vacation at this time. Mr. Silhol said he couldn’t think of any reason that he would not meet with the architects to go over his findings. Upon his return, the meeting will be scheduled.
Mt. Lebanon School Board President Alan Silhol said an in-depth study submitted to the school board regarding the high school renovation project has been given to the architect for review, with a preliminary report expected later in August.
Furthermore, Silhol said Dirk Taylor has been contacted and asked to meet face-to-face with district architects to go over his study. Mr. Taylor has been a structural engineer for nearly 30 years, with extensive experience in school construction projects. For the past 15 years, Mr. Taylor has been Mt. Lebanon’s “go to” engineer for structural issues in all 10 school buildings.
Mr. Taylor’s examination of one of the schematic designs for the high school project raised several “red flags,” that to him warranted further study before going forward. Mr. Taylor was not critical of the board or of the need to renovate the high school. His concerns are that the board made decisions based on “incomplete or missing data,” and a full review of the facts should take place first.
The lengthy document Mr. Taylor prepared includes drawings and explanation of structural “red flag” issues he saw in his professional capacity. They include but are not limited to walking distances for students, classroom size, building size, temporary classroom pods, athletic spaces and LEED certification.
Mr. Silhol said Mr. Taylor is respected at the district, and has been contacted and asked whether he would meet with the district architects to go over his concerns.
“Yes, we have taken a look at it, and yes, we have given a copy to our architect,” Mr. Silhol said. “I’m glad he did it (the analysis). If he is right, I am all for incorporating his recommendations into the design. He has taken a very long, thoughtful look at the process. We in turn should take a hard look at his study.
“What I would really like to see, is that Dirk to sit with our architects one-on-one and talk about these issues. He (Mr. Taylor) is a smart guy. He knows the building. I don’t agree 100% with everything he said, but there’s no reason we can’t incorporate some of this into the project,” Mr. Silhol said.
Silhol added he isn’t sure which version of the schematic design Mr. Taylor reviewed. He said the walking distance estimates, which Mr. Taylor said were the same or even worse in the proposed building, go completely afoul of what the board was told by former Superintendent John Allison.
“John personally went through the plans, the school, doing measurements,” Mr. Silhol said. “The figures we were given by Dirk are completely opposite of that, and we need to look at those again and try to reach consensus.”
Silhol said he is not happy with the $115 million cost figure the board has been given to renovate the high school.
“We’d like to get figures closer to reality based on today’s values. I’m not happy with $115 million, I’m not happy with $100 million either. We need to get these numbers down further. We are in the middle of a recession. The numbers we’ve seen so far are just too high,” Mr. Silhol said.
He may have reason to expect lower costs.Upper St. Clair just received bids for the middle schools renovation project which were 20 percent under estimate. With a $60-$70 million estimate in USC, 20 percent is a substantial reduction in the budget.
Silhol said the board is presently awaiting a report on geotechnical studies, which will show whether the area slated for the new wing can sustain the building. While not a determinative factor, the geo tech studies from the natatorium several years ago were not entirely favorable, he said.
Mr. Taylor is apparently on vacation at this time. Mr. Silhol said he couldn’t think of any reason that he would not meet with the architects to go over his findings. Upon his return, the meeting will be scheduled.
Labels: dirk taylor, high school renovation
4 Comments:
Don’t blame the architect. This is what happens when noisy interest groups like the athletic supporters and electioneering board members make poor decisions that threaten the future curriculum program and teachers jobs.
The blog article did not explain the design changes Mr. Taylor suggested could save the district tens of millions of dollars in project expense.
Mr. Taylor’s Report was a credit to himself and the Mt. Lebanon education he received from our teaching staff. Congratulations to all!
We need board members who are more interested in our children and teachers than they are in destructive Upper St. Clair WAVE politics.
You know who those board members are!
Don’t blame the architect. This is what happens when noisy interest groups like the athletic supporters and electioneering board members make poor decisions that threaten the future curriculum program and teachers jobs.
The blog article did not explain the design changes Mr. Taylor suggested could save the district tens of millions of dollars in project expense.
Mr. Taylor’s Report was a credit to himself and the Mt. Lebanon education he received from our teaching staff. Congratulations!
We need board members who are more interested in our children and teachers than they are in destructive Upper St. Clair WAVE politics.
You know who those board members are!
"Silhol said he is not happy with the $115 million cost figure the board has been given to renovate the high school.
“We’d like to get figures closer to reality based on today’s values. I’m not happy with $115 million, I’m not happy with $100 million either. We need to get these numbers down further. We are in the middle of a recession. The numbers we’ve seen so far are just too high,” Mr. Silhol said."
Here's what I want to know-where was this attitude when the school board was camped out at First Fridays trying desperately to get citizens excited by a $130 million project?
Where were these words when he voted for the option that was picked, knowing that it was still going to be darned expensive?
Where was this statement when Build Our School Now was campaigning for a brand new facility?
I cannot believe what I'm hearing. I don't know whether I should be happy that he wants the cost lowered or enraged that he didn't say it sooner?
It took someone with Mr. Taylor's extensive knowledge and professional ability to finally convince some board members what is intuitively obvious to the casual observer.
Let's make this meeting an educational lessons for students.
Here we have two acknowledged experts with two differing opinions and solutions. (Kind of like the Mann text book issue on global warming).
Wouldn't it be a great lesson for students to see how professionals back up their hypothesis to a problem and how they arrived at their solutions.
Dean Spahr
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