I am still in a little bit of shock over this. During the SF City Council meeting, Councilor Staggers asked why we are replacing a roof after only 14 years (it is leaking, and apparently only had a 10 year lifespan) and why isn’t the city’s engineering department looking at this issue instead of a private engineering company, Director Huwe’s response, “No one in the city engineering department has roof expertise. (sic)”
I am no engineer, but, I would think if the city engineering department put their heads together, they could figure it out.
Besides the fact that we have spent over $40 million on the reconstruction and construction of the Pavilion over the past 14 years and a roof lasting only 10 years is inexcusable, what is even more disappointing was that council chair Entenman has known about this plan to replace the roof since early November, he was informed by Larry Toll in an email, and the council did not learn about it until Friday when the consent agenda was released.
You will not be missed on the council, Jim.
Also a little troubling is who was one of the lead designers of the Pavilion? Koch, Hazard. Besides a leaky roof after 14 years and a bouncing mezzanine, the Pavilion has experienced many other issues, including the removal of carpet on the main staircases because the design was causing people to misstep and fall. Guess who is involved with the design of the new Events Center. Yup, you guessed it, Koch, Hazard. Oh boy.
Person who helped implement SIRE wins city award
What’s the best way to pretend there isn’t a 700 pound gorilla in the room? Give people that are part of the problem (not the solution) an award. The city employee who was responsible for the implementation of SIRE in 2011Â received a non-management employee award last night. Maybe she will get another award after she actually gets SIRE to work. I would like to present it 🙂
An engineer is not an engineer is not an engineer. For comparison, I would NOT advise hiring a plastic surgeon to perform a brain tumor surgery – because doctors are all doctors – they should just be able to figure it out.
Let me guess – the person who got the award was recognized for performing duties that were beyond her normal responsibilities/training/expertise. But an engineer is an engineer is an engineer – right?
I know who could put a new roof on the cinedom that will last a lot longer than 10 years… and it would be a fraction of the price of the original.
http://www.sukup.com/
Just sayin’.
Ruf, I believe there is over 20 employees in the SF Engineering department or more. They can’t figure this out? Actually, the city engineering department is one of the biggest offenders of outside ‘consulting’ expenses.
Craig, I was thinking the same thing. Maybe they could put a grain dryer in their to, to make a little extra revenue?
Ruf – As for the award, it is one thing to ‘implement’ something, it is entirely something else to make sure it works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7uvttu8ct0
This is a problem left over from Munson. He should have to pay for it.
My engineering opinion:
Show a continuous Cinemax of ‘The Rainforest’ with real rain, humidity, and mold special effects.
Where’s my $100K consulting fee.
These are not the only leaking funds under the roof of the City Hall. I know that the city spent over $300,000 in consulting expenses a few years ago. Where is it in the budget?
Jon, you should see the money the city spends on consulting fees, it is outrageous. The Attorney and Engineering offices are the worst offenders.
FYI l3wis. Engineering has 69 employees. 42 are the grunts you see out working on things like traffic signals. The other 27 are salaried. 24 of those 27 make more than 70k a year. Total budget is over 7.8 million a year. Yet we still pay consulting fees and have a leaking pavillion roof?
Yup, and the lackeys on the council defend this BS. Amazed that only ONE councilor voted against this. If anything, the contractors who built the WP should be sued. A ten year roof? Give me a FingB!
Forgive my ignorance in the matter, but:
Who owns the Washington Pavilion?
A quick Google search shows me that The Washington Pavilion was converted from the old Washington High School back in 1999, but who, exactly, did that?
Could point me towards more information on the history of the Washington Pavilion, please?
I’m curious.
Who profits? Is it subsidized with city tax dollars?
I went to their home page and found the list of people “running the show” and I see bankers and people from investment firms (among others) and such. But beyond that I’m not finding much on the history of the place.
City owns the building and is responsible for all maintenance. The Pavilion is run by a private management company. The only thing the Pavilion is responsible for is ‘general’ maintenance and cleaning. Like changing light balls, etc.
The AL story today was hilarious, why does Pavilion management constantly think the public is this ignorant?
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20131212/VOICES/312120033/City-hiring-architect-design-new-Cinedome-roof-Pavilion
especially this quote from Larry Toll;
“When you’ve got a building that’s 100-some years old, it’s kind of like owning a home of that age. You continually have to be vigilant and ensure you’re watching out for things and repairing them before it becomes a problem,†he said.
The CINEDOME is a free standing building that was built completely new 14 years ago. It is NOT a part of the refurbished Pavilion. I don’t even need an engineer to figure that out, I just used MY EYES!
As for the Pav itself, about 80-90% of the building was gutted and a new roof was put on the facility. about the only thing that is a 100 years old in the facility are the outlying offices and façade. But keep up the misinformation campaign. BTW, when will you announce what happened to the development director?
Thanks for the update Poly (#10). It would be interesting to compare Sioux Falls engineering and private consulting budget with a similar size city. Personally, I think everyone in Engineering is somebody’s brother – in – law and private consultants are a method to divert public funds into Huether’s column.
How many of the city’s salaried engineering employees are “Structural Engineers”? (BTW – aren’t secretaries, dispatchers and so on salaried? – Those must be the 3). That leaves 24. So how many have degrees and experience in STRUCTURAL engineering? I’ll bet the answer is ZERO, as the city is not in the business of designing occupaied buildings. Rather they are likely civil (streets/roads), mechanical (machinery/equipment) and other specialized degrees (chemical -> water treatment and so on. Like I said – you wouldn’t want a plastic surgeon operating on your brain tumor.
“I am no engineer, but, I would think if the city engineering department put their heads together, they could figure it out.”
BAAAAHHHHAAAHHHAAA….
Have you seen the other shit they’ve engineered, nothing. The only thing they can engineer is a contract for an engineering company to do the engineering.
“The only thing they can engineer is a contract for an engineering company to do the engineering.”
Now that is funny.
They even had to hire out a private firm to design hand rails on the old RR pedestrian bridge. I would think you could get a JR. High science class to figure that out for FREE, just promise them they can splatter paint all over it when they are done.