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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2017)
DECEMBER 1, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A11 School board talks seismic upgrades By HERB SWETT Of the Keizertimes Preparation for the Big One was one of the topics of a special Salem-Keizer School Board meeting Tuesday. Most of the school district buildings were built before many people knew what they do now about the Cascadia Subduction Zone, where an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude is expected this century. Retrofi tting the buildings, to allow for at least safe escape from them, is one of the rea- sons for the bond proposal that will be on the May 2018 ballot. Michael Wolfe, chief oper- ating offi cer of the district, re- viewed a study by MSC Engi- neers, Inc., of Salem, the latest of several seismic evaluations performed for the district. The process began with a 2005 as- sessment by the Oregon De- partment of Geology and Min- eral Industries. The engineers, Wolfe told the board, used the rapid vi- sual screening (RVS) method initiated by the Federal Emer- gency Management Agency. The method evaluates seismic level, building structure type, building irregularities, era of construction, and soil type to establish seismic hazard scores of buildings. The study assigned RVS scores to all the school struc- tures in the district, breaking them down into fi ve tiers of collapse potential: very high for egress (exit) only, very high for life safety, high for life safety, moderate, and low. It estimated construction costs without in- cluding such costs as contrac- tor overhead, insurance, and project management fees, and it recommended that for stra- tegic planning purposes, the district add 40 percent to the engineers’ numbers. It did not project costs for moderate and low risk. Total estimated costs are $56,986,191 for “very high” egress only, $69,097,278 for “very high” life safety, and $92, 014,000 for “high” life safety. District staff has recom- mended “very high” egress only as the only fi nancially feasible way to prepare for the earthquake, Wolfe said. Following are the current collapse potential estimates for school buildings in the Mc- Nary High School attendance area. • McNary: three buildings rated very high, two moderate. • Claggett Creek Middle School: no ratings at this writ- ing; three low in 2016. • Whiteaker Middle School: four high, one moderate. • Clear Lake Middle School: three high. • Weddle Elementary School: no ratings at this writ- ing; three low in 2016. • Cummings Elementary School: three very high, one high, two moderate. • Forest Ridge Elementary School: no ratings at this writ- ing; three low in 2016, • Gubser Elementary School: two high, one moder- ate. • Keizer Elementary School: two high. • Kennedy Elementary School: two very high, fi ve high. Another issue discussed was possible relocation of special education classrooms. Eric Richards, district director of student services, noted that 27 percent of the special educa- tion students in the district are attending classes away from their neighborhoods. He said this has caused fi nancial and transportation problems and discouraged those who have special needs from participat- ing in school activities. Director Kathy Goss said the quality of education should be the fi rst consideration. Paul Dakopolos, district council, was asked what legal issues could be raised and said federal regula- tions give districts considerable leeway over locations of pro- grams. The board did not reach an agreement on the matter. SURVEY, continued from Page 1 they volunteered in Keizer, 83 percent said they didn’t. While the survey did not ask about volunteering in other areas, fewer people (41 of 827 responders) skipped the question than any other in the survey. The volunteering numbers were 22 percent and 78 percent, respectively, in 2013-14. Overall, do you feel you are getting your money's worth for your City tax dollar? YES 61 DON’T KNOW 23 NO 16 673 RESPONDENTS Keizer Parks Supervisor Robert Johnson talks with an attendee at an information-gathering session on Tuesday, Nov. 28. KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald PARK, continued from Page A1 The next steps in the pro- cess will be to defi ne the spe- cifi c amenities that will be in the fi nal structure and then put it out for bid in early 2018. The city will also be invest- ing in new, ADA-accessible (Americans with Disabilities Act) pathways at Meadows, but that portion of the work will be packaged with similar work in other parks around the city and put out for a sepa- rate bid. In addition to the Mead- ows Park plan, Keizer is also hiring two new parks employ- ees to help the one-and-a-half existing ones keep their heads above water. While he has yet to review the 46 applications he’s re- ceived for the two jobs, Law- yer’s goal is to have the new hands hired by February and trained by March when the busy parks season begins. “I personally feel a lot of pressure on the parks division to perform with the collection of the parks fee. The commu- nity deserves to see something and I’m taking an aggressive stance so we can show them what they are getting for their money,” he said. W rapped W ishes Road Closure Information • Lockhaven Dr. CLOSED at 3:30 pm • River Road CLOSED at 6 pm • Use Cherry Ave. and Verda Lane as alternatives to River Road • Intermittent cross traffi c at Chemawa Rd., Dearborn Ave. and Manbrin Dr. • River Road reopens at 9 p.m. Saturday, December 2nd 10am – 5pm Oregon State Fairgrounds Jackman - Long Building, 2330 17th St. NE FREE ADMISSION