Responsible spending…
Nov 01, 2012 | 1520 views | 0 0 comments | 1149 1149 recommendations | email to a friend | print
I am the architect that developed contract documents for the recent Red Rock Elementary demolition and current high school soccer facility improvements. In reading last week’s letter titled “Irresponsible spending…,” I thought it might be helpful to clarify some of the references to Grand County School District’s spending on these recent capital improvements.

The school district paid a contractor $147,440 to demolish Red Rock Elementary through a publicly advertised, competitive bid process. The majority of the “…cost of over $311,000,” was spent in abating hazardous material, i.e., asbestos.

In a short amount of time, the vacant RRE was a target for vandals. There were several entry points, i.e., broken windows and doors boarded up by the district and re-broken, where vandals were in fact entering the vacant building and causing damage – their graffiti messages were “colorful,” to say the least. Since school districts are self-insured through the state, one can only speculate at the cost to taxpayers for settling a claim brought by a vandal that was injured in the course of occupying, by whatever means, this vacated building owned by the school district.

The $750,000 value quoted as being spent on “upgrading parking lots and soccer bleachers” is actually being spent to provide a new 100-plus space parking lot, a tiered grass seating area at the southeast corner of the soccer field and a new toilet/storage/concession building – all accessible to persons with disabilities. These new facilities will serve soccer game spectators and visitors to the high school site. Previously, game spectators were provided with a porta-potty for sanitary needs and graduation visitors unable to find space in the high school parking lot had to park in neighboring subdivisions or undeveloped dirt fields.

Yes, teachers teach, but buildings (and even site improvements) facilitate our children’s education experience. Please consider this too when you vote.

—Jim Dresslar

Moab

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