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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

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Bozeman High renovation shaken by cost, earthquake
woes

By GAIL SCHONTZLER Chronicle Staff
Writer

The discovery of major earthquake safety problems at the old Chief
Joseph Middle School and other unexpected costs have put the renovation plan for
Bozeman High School $4 million over budget, forcing planners to scrap a proposed
new library.

Keeping and fixing up the old
high school library would bring the project back within the $30 million budget,
but there still wouldn't be a penny to build a new auditorium. An auditorium
could cost up to $10 million for the professional-style theater that architects
had been considering.

And there may not be enough money to build 11 new
classrooms along the high school's long hall, which jeopardizes the plan to give
all teachers at least one “prep” period in their classrooms.

The news
fell like bombshells Monday night on the Bozeman School Board trustees, most of
whom hadn't been told of the problems.

Trustees expressed surprise and
frustration and said that they have no idea what the proposed high school will
look like now.

Gary Griffith, the school administrator in charge of major construction
projects, said the seismic engineer reported three weeks ago that the old Chief
Joseph Middle School doesn't meet modern seismic safety codes.

“The floor
slabs are extremely rigid, but (it's as if) they're held up with toothpicks,”
Griffith told the board.

Instead of the $300,000 to $400,000 budgeted for
seismic work, it will cost $1.4 to $1.5 million to build huge exterior
buttresses - two stories tall and 20 feet wide at the bottom - to keep the walls
from shifting in an earthquake, Griffith said.

Voters passed a $36
million bond issue in 2005 to renovate and expand Bozeman High to solve problems
with crowding, sprawl and an inadequate number of classrooms. The original plan
called for saving money by having half new construction and half renovated
space, including having the high school take over the old Chief Joseph building
next door.

Meanwhile, the staff urged the board to approve the revised
plan in the next two to four weeks, so that construction drawings can be ready
to go to bid by next March.

Chairman Carson Taylor asked whether the
board could put the project on hold for one year.

Inflation would
increase the costs, and the district would risk forfeiting interest to the
federal government, the staff said. But Taylor said he didn't want to make a
hasty, bad decision that could cost millions of dollars.

“I'm trying to
comprehend why three weeks ago everything goes to hell in a hand basket,” said
Trustee Denise Hayman.

Derek Didriksen, project manager for Dick Anderson
Construction, the general contractor, said the cost overruns are mainly due to
the seismic problem and the discovery that existing air-handling mechanical
equipment won't meet modern codes.

There's no money to build the
auditorium, but the school's contract with architect Ben Lloyd calls for him to
prepare plans for a 1,250-seat auditorium, in hopes the district would
eventually raise the money to build it.

Trustees debated but reached no
consensus on whether to scale it back to an 800-seat auditorium, without a
balcony, orchestra pit or professional-sized fly loft. That would meet most
school needs, though not community opera or symphony needs. The smaller
auditorium might cost $5 million or $6 million, Lloyd said.

Trustee
Heather Hart said she didn't want the public to look at the high school and
think the school district did “a bad, second-hand job.”

“I don't want to
drive by eight years from now and say, ‘Boy, did we make a mistake,'” Hart
said.

“My heart is racing as much around the 11 classrooms as the
auditorium,” said Trustee Sarah Glover. “But my heart is racing.”

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