BISD BOARD MEETS, ACCEPTS OVER-PRICED, SHODDY BUILDING

By Juan Montoya
They did it without a peep.
They voted to make the final payment to NM Constructing and accepted the the Hanna ECHS Construction Technology Building despite an array of shortcomings that have ben languishing for trhe better part of a year.

Hat is one of the action items that the members of the board of the  Brownsville Independent School District voted on during their Tuesday meeting.

Only member Minerva Peña made a half-hearted stab at trying to get an answer out of the Esperanza Zendejas administration on why – if it was a new building – there was water seeping though the walls near the main electric fuse boxes.

Originally going to cost somewhere around $550,000 and would include instruction in the building trades, painting, carpentry, an other skills associated with the building and vocational trades, it had climbed past $600,000 toward $700,000 due to a number of change orders approved by the district.

The building approved by the board Tuesday:

1. Has no air conditioning. That was included in the original specs for the building that was later removed to lower costs. If the students want to have some cool air, they will have to open the large garage doors to allow air to circulate from the outside.



This despite promises on the record by the contractor to Lieck and board members on a walk-through tour that he would construct curves where the air conditioning and drives (in the future) may be placed. They never were.

2. The district, at its own cost, is placing large fans in large squares they broke through the cinder block walls to provide a place for exhaust and dust to exit the working space. With the building still under warranty, was it wise for the district's crews to make these changes and forfeit the warranty?

3. Already, the inside of the building has water leaks, including water seeping near the main electric fuse boxes, and mold appears to be beginning to form. (See graphic at left. Click to enlarge.)

4. There will be no spray booth for lacquering or varnishing cabinets and furniture in the building. Uses for the booth in a normal Construction Technological Program include light spray painting, and varnishing or lacquering on cabinets, tables, shelves and custom projects. That was also removed to cut costs. If the students want to apply lacquer or varnish to a piece of woodwork, they will have to open the garage doors and turn on the exhaust fans to provide ventilation.

5. The outside security lights, instead of being placed on the trim line near the roof, were placed on the side of the walls almost as an afterthought.

6. Sewage pipes will run along the ceiling, above the working areas where students will receive instruction.

7. And workers used cancer-causing materials which the State of California found cause cancer when the materials were drilled, sawed, or by sanding or machining, causing dust to be inhaled by people (students?).




Some of the costs have been questioned, such as the district's paying for the cost of testing concrete beams which is the responsibility of the supplier.

Workers at the site overheard of a foreman for the company saying that it had been so difficult working with the district that it might be the last time they would bid on a BISD facility.

Well, this goose is cooked.

The contractor got his cash. Some others surely also got theirs.
And hopefully, the students who will take the construction technology courses there won't get zapped by an electrical short-circuit, dehydrate without air conditioning, or inhale cancer-causing dust or fumes from the materials.