wednesday, december 14, 2011 B the denver post B denverpost.com
SCHOOLS:
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FROM 1A
In both cases, Fort Collinsbased Neenan has agreed to pay for repairs. Representatives for the firm appeared at school board meetings in both communities Tuesday. Andy Boian, a public-relations specialist hired by Neenan, emphasized that the issues discovered in Craig and Akron are not considered threats to life safety. Neither, he said, do they compare to the serious structural problems that caused the school board in Meeker to temporarily close an $18.9 million school in that rural northwestern Colorado town this fall.
Worst issues in Meeker Structural issues have been identified in at least six Neenan-built schools, but none on the scale of Meeker, which was found to be built to the wrong safety codes and susceptible to collapse in extreme weather. “Typically, when you have peer reviews, you’re going to come back with these sorts of things, when you have a tweak here or blemish here that needs correcting,” Boian said. After the problems in Meeker, the Colorado Department of Education requested that Neenan hire independent firms to conduct peer reviews of the structural engineering on 15 schools built with money from the state’s Building Excellent Schools Today grant program. So far, the department has received reports on the Akron school and a school in Monte Vista, said BEST program director Ted Hughes. He said he expects the rest to be completed by mid-January. Hughes said action plans prepared by Neenan in response to the reviews will go to the school districts; the state Division of Fire Safety, which oversees school plan reviews and in-
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Neenan says reviews often find “blemish” spections; and the state Department of Regulatory Agencies for review. The Denver Post has previously reported on issues at Monte Vista High School. A memo from Neenan, which Hughes provided to The Post on Tuesday, shows the company has agreed to add piers to strengthen four concrete walls, modify beam connections and other repairs. Neenan has said it did not agree with the proposed fix but agreed to carry it out anyway. The school district received a $27.6 million BEST grant to help pay for the new high school — which is scheduled to open in August — as well as an elementary-school renovation and addition. At Craig Middle School, the locker rooms, band room, theater storage room and adjoining hallway areas are now offlimits to students. Students will be unable to change clothes for physical education classes or shower afterward. The band will practice in a gym room. The district hired KL&A, a Golden engineering firm, to review the school’s design after a Post investigation of the Meeker project last month. On Friday, KL&A’s principal engineer told the district a portion of the school did not meet code requirements. The engineers “recommend that the north addition roof structure be retrofitted with a code compliant lateral system in a timely manner,” Petrone wrote in a letter to the community posted on the district’s website. His decision to close the wing was first reported Tuesday by the Craig Daily Press. Petrone said he expects the entire school will be open to students after this month’s holiday break. Boian, the Neenan spokesman, said the company supports Petrone’s decision to
close part of the school. He said Neenan paid for the KL&A review and agreed to pay for repairs at the Monte Vista and Craig schools “out of an abundance of caution.” “Just like in any construction review process, there tends to be different opinions about how to potentially resolve an issue,” Boian said.
Other problems before This is not the first problem with a Neenan-built school in Moffat County. Two years ago, a Neenan supervisor noticed a deflection in a beam supporting the second floor on an $18 million elementary school then under construction in Craig. An independent review pinpointed a drawing error by a structural engineer hired as a subcontractor, and Neenan paid for repairs. Boian said Neenan hired an outside firm for the structural engineering on both Craig schools. In Akron, Neenan has agreed to add piers under the foundation and new bracing at the second floor and the roof “to enhance performance of the structure,” according to an action plan from the company. Superintendent Bryce Monasmith said the fixes will help protect the building against heavy winds or other forces. The school is expected to be completed by May. “I feel personally that things are being looked at and that we’ll have a safe school when we’re done,” Monasmith said.
The locker rooms, band room and adjoining areas at Craig Middle School have been closed as work is done to bring the Neenan-built structure up to code. Bridget Manley, Craig Daily Press
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