New Winslow Dorm To Be Ready August 1

E-MAIL THIS

PRINT THIS

MOST POPULAR

PDF VERSION

XML VERSION

By Linda Kor
    Concerns over the opening of the new Winslow Residential Hall in time for returning students prompted a special meeting last Thursday of all the key players involved in the project. After much discussion, they agreed that the facility would be ready for occupancy on Aug. 1.
    Those in attendance included Elmer Clark, board president of the Winslow Residential Hall, Helene Botone, executive director of the hall, Andrew Acoya, an architect with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Joel Rodriguez of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as representatives from Benham Boldt, the contractor for the construction of the facility.
    Clark opened the meeting by stating that they were gathered to clarify the final dates for the new construction.
    “We were initially informed that the construction would be completed by October of last year,” related Clark. “Then it was postponed until December, then January and June. We had planned for July 4 as a dedication date where traditional ceremonies would take place and prayers would be offered, but we had to cancel that.”    The delay at this point seems to be more of a paperwork issue than a structural one. The facility is primarily complete, with the interior of the facility approved by the corps, as well the fire alarm systems back in February. However, the BIA also had to inspect the facility and the corps did not receive its analysis of the fire alarm system in a timely manner. As a result, Rodriguez had to submit the engineer’s notes instead in order to stay within the required timeframe. Upon review, BIA did not agree with the find-ings on the system, causing one more delay.
    Another issue, according to Rodriguez, was the contractor not providing the required submittals.
    Robert Ross of Benham Boldt informed Rodriguez that he had the final submittals with him, and would be providing those at the end of the meeting.
     The result has been an ongoing tangle of delays.
    “The bed bunks have been dismantled and the kitchen equipment has been transferred, but in order to move the students in, we need to have a certificate of occupancy,” related Clark. Without approval of the final paperwork, this can’t be issued.
    “This is not just about a facility, this is about students,” explained Clark. “These students and their par-ents expect us to be able to have this facility ready for the next school year.”
    According to Botone, in order to accommodate the anticipated move, additional short-term employees had been hired at a cost so far of $12,060. Along with that is the cost of the utilities that have been turned on in the new facility since November 2007, adding $48,075 to the facilities’ utilities bills since the old facility is still being occupied.
    “I’m just wondering who’s going to pay for this,” stated Botone. “We did not anticipate having both facilities in operation for an entire year, we can’t pay this bill.”
    That question remained unanswered as Clark elaborated on the accommodations that have been made in anticipation of the hall being available in time for the new school year.
    “We have already streamlined our school policies to be applicable to this new facility. Even our policy to require a deposit increased by 50 percent anticipating that the students would be in the new facility,” added Clark.
    The staff will be returning on Aug. 4, and facility authorities are wondering if the delays presented so far will be resolved in time for students to move in to the hall by Aug. 10.
    “We have staff coming and orientation to do. We can’t afford a dilemma at this time. We need to make a commitment today. We need to hear that. We have to have a certificate of occupancy,” emphasized Clark.
    Ross wanted to clarify that Benham Boldt had met the contractual agreement required by the corps.
    Rodriquez concurred and stated that if the BIA wanted them to do more and pay for that, it would be their decision.
    It was determined that with the paperwork provided that a review of the system could take place and the project prioritized in order to meet the Aug. 1 deadline. A dedication ceremony has been scheduled for Aug. 4 and students will be arriving on Aug 10.
    The two-story, 46,500-square foot facility will house 160 students. The construction cost of facility itself is $6.7 million.