SBISD NAT AND PAC CONSTRUCTION FLAWED; WILL BUILDINGS HAVE TO BE DEMOLISHED AT EXTRA COST TO THE TAXPAYERS?

By Tomas Montemayor

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Dear Editor,

I was watching the April 4 school board Building Committee meeting and the word Geo Pier was mentioned. 

What is a Geo Pier? 

 A Geopier is a ground improvement method installed at sites with a high groundwater table or where soils are susceptible to caving, such as foundation soils consisting of loose sands, or soft silts and clays like the area where the Natatorium (Nat) and Performing Arts Center (PAC)are being built... basically, in a natural Zone C or flood zone. 

 Geopiers pre-strain and pre-stress the soil using soil “replacement” and soil “displacement” technology to strengthen soft soil and loose soil with very dense, stiff, rock columns constructed by heavy equipment using vertical impact ramming. The end result is a stiffened mass of soil that provides improved bearing.

Basically, the Geopiers bear the weight of the building so it doesn’t shift beneath the ground. After the Geopiers are in place, the concrete foundation is poured over the area concentrated by the Geopiers.

But what happens when the concrete foundation is poured missing the Geopiers, like what appears to have happened at San Benito CISD with the Natatorium and Performing Arts Center? 

It seems that the Nat foundation missed the Geopiers by five (5) feet in one direction and one (1) foot in another direction. The PAC foundation didn't miss it as badly as the Nat, but its foundation is not squarely on its Geopiers either. What happens at your home if part of your house is built on air instead of on the foundation or if not enough building piers are used?

What happened? How could this have happened? Do you remember former board member Anna Llanes’ constant complaint that it didn’t make sense to build a heavy structure like a natatorium in a flood zone? But she was a member of the minority on the board, so the building of the Nat in a flood zone proceeded.

Supt. Theresa Servellon reported that at a minimum, both buildings are in the wrong place. They are five (5)  feet off. 

 "We know that both buildings have been placed in the wrong place. This fact was discovered by the district's new structural engineer. Why is this Geopier visible over here, but the building is over there?" We know for sure that both buildings are in the wrong place. We need to redesign the parking lots, the drives, and there are going to be ramifications involving the utilities. So we know for sure there is going to be a redesign, we know for sure that it's going to be more time, we know for sure it's going to be more money."

After the District dispensed with the services of Project Manager Joseph Palacios, it hired an independent surveyor who fully investigated and discovered that the footprints were not in the specified locations. 

"If the buildings are off even a little bit, redesign and relocation are needed," he told the board members.

As a result, work has stopped on the Nat. The SBISD will address this issue in the future with fully certified consultants, a structural engineer, a Geopier engineer and geotechnical engineer.

In the meeting, board member Orlando Lopez asked, "Who was responsible for this?" Attorney Steven Weller responded.

"The Contractor's engineers and surveyors," Weller said. It is within the Contractor's responsibility to make sure that the buildings are placed where they belong and have the assurance that the same contracting company has the consultants necessary to make sure that this is happening."

And who was the Contractor? Davila Construction, the same company who was hired by the former board, who according to the recently performed Forensic Audit, violated Texas Government Code.

And who hired Davila Construction? The Project Manager Joseph Palacios, who recommended to the board the hiring of Davila Construction to the board.

And who hired Joseph Palacios? Would you believe the Michael Vargas/Orlando Lopez/Dr. Carman board.

Board members asked “How did this happen?” 

Servellon responded that, "This (misplacement of the buildings) did not happen recently. This happened starting over a year ago." The errors were made by lack of oversight from the beginning.

A board member asked what the worst case scenario was. Answer at the meeting: Demolish all the construction that has been done so far.

I disagree. I believe that if this new board had not dismissed the Project Manager and hired an independent consultant who discovered the exposed Geopiers and the misplacement of the foundations, construction of the facility could have continued. 

 Who knows what other deficiencies would have been discovered? The worst-case scenario was that if they had not been discovered, once the buildings were up and students were using them, a major catastrophe killing hundreds of our children could occur. 

I urge all concerned citizens of the San Benito ISD to attend or view the upcoming April 12 meeting where more forthcoming detailed explanations were promised at the April 4 meeting.