Flooring at school being replaced for third time
By NATHAN BROWN, Enterprise Staff WriterSARANAC LAKE - The flooring in an 11-year-old wing of Bloomingdale Elementary School is being replaced for the third time.
Discussion of who is at fault for problems with the tile and carpet adhesive and who will pay for the replacement prompted the Saranac Lake Central School Board to call an executive session in the middle of its regular meeting Wednesday evening.
The district expanded Bloomingdale, Petrova School and the high school in 1998. The district sued the contractors for using faulty fill and received some payments earlier this year as part of a settlement. The flooring at Bloomingdale was replaced in 2006.
Mark Kimble, of the architectural and engineering firm Bernier, Carr and Associates, P.C. told the school board that moisture testing was done before carpet and tile were put down again in 2006, as the adhesive can only tolerate a lower moisture level. However, Kimble said, adhesive has been slowly rising since 2007, and by the time the 2008-09 school year ended, the floors were sticky from adhesive that never set properly and leaked up.
Kimble said moisture testing done this summer showed levels "slightly higher than the level allowed by the adhesives."
The tile and carpet have been removed, and Kimble said a more effective moisture barrier system is being used this time.
"Are we going to pay for this a third time?" said district Business Executive Michael Kilroy. "We're in the 50s (more than $50,000) already."
Paul Carr, also of Bernier, Carr and Associates, said the board should not discuss issues such as who will pay for the replacement and what caused the adhesive failure in open session.
"These are potential litigation issues and negotiation issues," Carr said.
School board member Clyde Baker said the district needs to know why the adhesive failed in the first place.
The board resumed its regular meeting after the executive session, then held another executive session after its regular meeting.
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Contact Nathan Brown at 891-2600 ext. 26 or nbrown@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.
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FishCric
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08-07-09 9:35 AM
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Yes whose the contractor? If it was a local youth littering their name would be here!
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contrary1
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08-07-09 8:36 AM
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What contractor did the school district win a judgement against? Did the school's lawyer allow for the possibility of more water leeching under the building due to this "faulty fill" when they settled the lawsuit? If newspapers don't report objectively on matters like this, how do we keep bad construction companies from littering the landscape with junk buildings paid for by the taxpayer? Children aren't learning that grown-ups are clueless, they're learning that the concept of right and wrong mean nothing to professionals. Someone objective should be checking Bernier, Carr's work. Since state money was used, state inspectors should get involved, or else one might lie and the other might swear to it...professionally...for the third time.
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business
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08-06-09 7:03 PM
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In public works contracts there should be a bonding company insuring job. Our district failed to hold the bonding company, the engineer, the architect, and the contractors responsible and spent taxpayers money. It was badly mismanaged.
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Broadwater
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08-06-09 2:21 PM
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This isn't the school districts fault....there was a problem with moisture somewhere during installation. Unfortunately this is one mistake made during a 4.5 million dollar "re-do" project. Considering the initial cost of the "fix" was expected to be 6 million...I think things went pretty well. Replacing tile flooring is a small problem. Hopefully this will be corrected once and for all! Everyone is tired of dealing with this issue....that means the district too!
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AntiLib
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08-06-09 12:48 PM
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Leave it alone. This will cut down on slip-and-fall accidents.
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bigfoot
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08-06-09 12:38 PM
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Just tax me more I'll pay for your mistakes
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FishCric
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08-06-09 10:43 AM
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If it was not for the kids learning that gown-ups were clueless this would be funny.......
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