MOUNT VERNON — Although renovations are about two weeks behind schedule, pending the granting of an occupancy permit today, the Knox County Career Center will open its doors to students on Wednesday. Some of the labs will be in temporary quarters, ceiling tiles may be missing in spots, lesson plans may need to be adjusted and construction work will be continuing, but school will be in session, according to director Debbie Cisler.
Mike Shoemaker, Ohio School Facilities Commission director, along with state Sen. Bill Harris and Rep. Thom Collier, toured the KCCC Monday afternoon. They talked with some of the contractors and workmen on site, and listened as Superintendent Ray Richardson explained the importance of time in labs to state certification programs. The interested parties worked together to develop a “Top 10” priority list of things that must be completed by the start of school.
“My job is to get a quality building open for the kids and the citizens of this district Wednesday,” Shoemaker said. “Will it be 100 percent complete? No, it will be the same as any other construction project — the light switch that doesn’t work, the floor tile that is discolored or the door that bangs somewhere.”
Many of the contractors have been working 12- and 14-hour days, including weekends, to meet the opening deadline.
“There has been some confusion about [intermediate] deadlines,” Shoemaker said. “I am here to find out why we missed some of those deadlines, and more importantly, why didn’t [OSFC] know about it? What we’re doing now is saying, ‘No. 1, let’s fix it.’”
One of the difficulties with the KCCC project, Shoemaker said, is that it is a vocational renovation rather than new school construction. Unlike a typical school building where students can be housed in temporary classrooms, professional labs such as cosmetology and welding cannot be moved. Specialized wiring and safety features also have to be considered. The specifications for vocational items are very different and often tricky, he said.
“New construction is much easier. You can go into a vacant field and start from the ground up. You know what you’ve got to work with. In a renovation, you’re never sure what you are going to run into,” he said.
“Seeing was believing,” said Collier. “This is not just the typical punch list that’s left to be done. There are some very significant issues that have to be addressed. I think the root of much of it is that promises were made early on about time frames that were probably not realistic. It’s very unfortunate that the building will not be [100 percent] ready for the first day, because that first impression for students and the community is very important. When the community sees the investments made in this type of project, they want to see positive results. And ultimately, that will be the result here. Of that I’m confident.”
Shoemaker is confident as well, and said he is also using the KCCC situation as a learning experience. He has asked all involved parties to submit a list of questions, concerns, observations and problems encountered, in the hope of avoiding some of the issues on future OSFC projects.
“If I can’t learn from this building,” he said, “and make the next one better, I’m not doing my job.”
Part of that job is making sure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, and he said OSFC is withholding a percentage of all contractor and construction management fees until the job is done and done right. A couple of the contractors are also voluntarily assuming the cost of temporary “fixes” required through no fault of their own.
