Page 8
The INDEPENDENT, December 5, 2002
Seismic retrofitting might save kids, but the bricks will still fall
From page 1
question, G otchall said that
sometimes, new elements of
the design renovation may not
become effective until the old
element has failed. The new el
ement in a reinforced wall will
not actually hold the load of the
roof until the old element has
fallen away. For example, a
new structural steel and con
crete wall would not hold up the
roof until the old unreinforced
masonry (brick) wall had fallen
away. In the event of an earth
quake the brick exterior of the
building is still going to fall, ac
cording to Gotchall.
Comprehensive plans
require an architect
When board member Darrell
Hamblet asked about the build
ing being subject to other (than
structural) upgrades to meet
current code, Gotchall respond
ed that an architect is needed
to develop com prehensive
plans that best meet the needs
of the district. He also said that
the WGS building could never
be brought into total com pli
ance with modern code re
quirements. When asked why
the high school was not includ
ed in this study, Superintendent
Mike Funderburg said that
W GS is the building of concern
now.
Marie Botchie said that, in
her experience, just because a
building do e sn ’t meet code
doesn’t mean it is unsafe.
Gotchall explained that the
safety factor at W GS is related
to the composition of the unre
inforced masonry (URM) walls
and the connections between
the structural elements of the
roof, the floor and the founda
tion. Gotchall’s report says that,
“In terms of seismic risk, this
type of building is found to be
most hazardous.” He described
the construction as “very brittle”
and having little strength to
transfer loads, such as the
shaking of an earthquake or
heavy rain or snow, from the
roof to the ground. Asked if
there were some modifications
that could be made for relative
ly low cost, Gotchall responded
that anchors to attach the walls
more securely to the roof and
foundation would increase the
factor of safety.
Methods same as prior
engineering study
When asked about how he
conducted his study, Gotchall
answ ered that he had per
formed his work in the same
way as the previous engineer.
Since interior finishes hide
nearly all of the structural ele
ments, his conclusions are
“statements of structural engi
neering judgments based sole
ly on visual observation from a
cursory walk-through of the ex
isting facilities, information col
lected from existing drawings,
and a simplistic seismic analy
sis.” When asked about the re
cently
discovered
dry-rot,
Gotchall said that determining
the amount of dry-rot in an ex
isting structure is extremely dif
ficult without actually tearing
the building apart.
The same information was in
previous reports given to the
board and the long-range facili
ties planning group, Michelle
Blum noted, plus information
about unsafe and inadequate
buildings at the high school.
She said that, while the recent
ly passed seismic safety meas
ure for public buildings may
eventually provide funds for
this type of renovation, it is cur
rently unfunded and likely to re
main so in light of the state’s
budget crisis. Reading from a
document she prepared and is
circulating in the community,
Blum said a first hand review of
the facts in previous reports
and the post-bond measure
survey, indicate to her that the
public did not have the informa
tion they needed to support the
previous bond measure. Blum
makes a passionate appeal to
the public (See Letter to the Ed
itor) that money spent on fixing
a portion of the problem is
wasted.
$2 million would get job
started, not finished
Gotchall’s report includes an
estimate of almost $2 million as
the cost of structural seismic
renovation. He said the esti
mate does not include “any ar
chitectural items or finishes,
m echanical or electrical im
provements, and other items,
which should be evaluated in
conjunction with any structural
improvements.” Gotchall said
that he is currently involved in
the seismic rehabilitation and
remodel of a junior high school
in Estacada that is similar in
size, layout and type of con
struction. The final cost for the
project, including structural, ar
chitectural, m echanical and
electrical improvements, will be
$5-6 m illion. According to
Gotchall, Newburg is currently
seeking bids for a new elemen
tary of the same size as WGS
what they would support.
Hamblet said the previous
bond didn't have much input or
discussion at various churches,
civic groups, etc., but teacher
llene Grady questioned this,
pointing out that she, and oth
ers, were out in the community
working hard for passage of the
bond. Hamblet responded that
the board needed the confi
dence of the community, that
the bond was the most reason
able solution. Isabelle M c
Daniel said that many people
just didn’t feel they had the
money to support a bond with
an added tax burden. She said
that many senior citizens are
especially inclined to think of
the dollars first. Botchie also
said that she had heard people
say that they just didn’t have
the money for a bond.
in the $8 million range.
Without public support,
nothing will be done
Following G otchall’s report,
board chairman Carla Strand
opened a general discussion
with the audience and said that
the board needed the consen
sus of the community to move
forw ard. Blum pressed the
board to answer the question,
“W hat does consensus look
like to you?” Strand directed
Blum and Botchie to engage in
discussion with board member
Cari Levenseller, who recently
attended a workshop on how to
obtain and use com munity sup
port for bond measures, but
was unable to attend the No
vem ber 21 m eeting. Board
m em ber Leslie O ’Leary said
the board needs the com m uni
ty to say what is needed and
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