History of Mt. Eccles
Mt. Eccles is an elementary school that is rich with history and tradition. Its central location allows for many of its students to walk to school as well as back home at the end of the day
Mt. Eccles is one of the oldest schools in Alaska, being built in 1954. It was designed by an architect located in Washington DC, one that never placed foot in Cordova. It was opened in 1955 with original size of 22,355 sq ft. 5 classrooms were added in 1963 bringing the school size to 36,425 square feet.
Major repairs took place in 1991 and included new ventilation, windows, and upgrades to the mechanical/electrical systems. An elevator was added in 2001 along with handicapped ramps.
Current Mt. Eccles Activity
There has been a condition survey completed by architects/engineers to ensure that the building is structurally sound. Architects have been investigating the many needs of the school and working with the public to gather critical input. Surveyors have been on site to secure the property lines, elevations, and to better prepare for potential property set backs and road right of ways (for increased parking needs).
Immediate needs
The City Council has been engaged with this conversation since early fall. They have carefully approached this project with a conservative mindset. An architectural firm was hired to do a thorough condition survey. Architects and engineers examined all areas of the school, as well as considerations for future usage. Room restructuring to better accommodate today’s needs include considerations for a library, a music room, relocation of the District Office, as well as a conference room and a nurse’s station. In addition to the renovation of Mt. Eccles, a new gymnasium is also being considered. This gym will be able to host highschool as well as elementary sporting activities. Work on the current stage is scheduled as well as discussion surrounding a stage area for the new gym.
The city council carefully weighed the option of building a new school. Items considered were: possible sites and necessary transportation to/from; size of building (loss of 10,000 sq ft), loss of community school and centrally located gathering point, and the vast area now required for a new structure (8+ acres). Although a new school would be great and energy efficient, the city would still be responsible to do a certain degree of renovation of Mt. Eccles. This combined with a $25+million price tag was simply too much to consider.
Conceptual Planning
The needs of Mt. Eccles range from immediate removal of asbestos floor tile (lunchroom/storeage areas) and asbestos pipe insulation (main hall) to roofing replacement and insulation upgrade (both roof and walls). Although the building has been certified as structurally safe, current code requires the placement of internal cross bracing for earthquake defense. Installation of mechanical controls will allow for optimum energy efficiency. This renovation will extend the life of Mt. Eccles easily 25-35 years.
The scheduled gymnasium will access existing systems (heating/electrical/plumbing) allowing for maximum efficiency. The gym will be located directly behind the school next to Adam’s street. It would require the city to purchase the Carroll home adjacent to the existing property. The Carroll family is in support of selling the property at fair market value.
The renovation will take place over the next 3 years. Since the entire school will be impacted, the gym will be completed first. Once the gym is completed, it will house “several classrooms” at a time while that portion of the building is being renovated. This will allow for non-stop construction to take place.
Due to scheduled decline of student population (K-12) the district office would move into a wing of the Mt. Eccles School. This would make efficient use of the Mt. Eccles school as well as allow the district to discontinue use of one of the existing temporary relocatable buildings currently being used (located behind the high school).
Challenges
One of the biggest challenges faced with this project is for the public to realize that this renovation is scheduled to meet the basic needs of our community’s children. Since Mt. Eccles was built, much has changed in the educational world. Getting accurate/consistent information to the public is a priority concern of the city council as well as the school board.
The renovation will take place over the next 3 years. Since the entire school will be impacted relocation of the students is a priority concern. Once the gym is completed, it will house “several classrooms” at a time while that portion of the building is being renovated. This will allow for non-stop construction to take place.
This renovation will be considered as 2 different projects from the state’s perspective. The cost of the gym will be reimbursed at 60%, and the cost of the renovation will be reimbursed at 70%. This debt reimbursement is available from the state due to the past legislation that moved the “sunset” date from November, 2008 forward to November 2010. This is especially important to this project, as without support from the state this project simply could not successfully move forward.
Frequently asked questions…
Is this project really necessary?
Since Mt. Eccles was built in 1954, much has changed in the educational world. Recent requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) have raised the risk of schools that fail to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Loss of this status takes away local control of our schools (currently underway in many schools across Alaska). Further, basic needs such as plumbing needs, removal of dangerous asbestos, fire code, technology needs, and the growing requirements of educating our children have changed tremendously since this school was built 54 years ago.
What is this project going to cost the taxpayer?
Currently the interest rate for the bonds is slightly more than 4%. Once approved via support of the public, the facilities committee will work with the City to find the lowest rate for the bond. Current projected costs for this project per $100,000 home for a 20-year bond are roughly $176/$100,000 home, and for a 25 year bond it will be $141/$100,000 home. This amount WILL vary until the actual bond is purchased and the interest rate is secured, and the final costs of the project are finalized.
How much is this renovation going to cost?
Total cost of this renovation is anticipated to be $14.5 million. Due to fuel costs/inflation, this project grows by more than $1 million per year. This past year the legislature extended the “debt reimbursement statute” until 2010. It was initially scheduled to sunset November 10, 2008. What this does is allow for the state to pay 60-70% of school construction for communities such as Cordova.
Didn’t Cordova just renovate Mt. Eccles? When is this renovation conversation going to stop?
Mt. Eccles is one of the oldest schools in Alaska, being built in 1954. Major repairs took place in 1991 and included new ventilation, windows, and upgrades to the mechanical/electrical systems. An elevator was added in 2001 along with handicapped ramps. Much of the buiilding is out of current code (including compliance regarding ADA-Americans with Disabilities Act). A building is typically good for 30-35 years without going through a complete renovation. As noted earlier, there were a couple of areas that were addressed (giving the community the impression that all is well/complete). Actually, Mt. Eccles has never gone through a thorough renovation since it was built. This renovation will add 30-35 years to its life before another renovation will be necessary.
I have some ideas for this renovation. How can I get involved?
Current efforts to gather input have included public forums, school board discussions, council discussions, council/school board joint meetings, facilities committee meetings, and teacher meeting. Continued meetings will be critical to gather input for the conceptual work of this project. Watch the scanner for more info. The next scheduled forum meeting is June 17. It will be held prior to the school board meeting and will begin at 6:30 in the CHS library.
With the price of energy going up as it has, how can we expect to come up with even more money to fund this project?
Efforts are currently underway to secure funds to reduce taxpayer liability. Additional funds from the state and federal government can reduce tax liability tremendously. The district is currently working with professional grant writers to assist in this task. Since this building was built, considerable progress has been made in energy efficiency making its annual costs considerably less. Most important is the need to understand that with the Debt Reimbursement benefit, we will get this school construction reimbursed at 60-70% (gym at 60%, school at 70%).
What is the construction schedule?
With support of the community, the renovation could begin as early as next spring. The project will require 18-20 months to complete. During the construction, the goal is to relocate the children within the existing building allowing construction to be nonstop. This construction will not impact the playground renovation currently underway, in fact in many cases it will compliment the effort.
Bottom line…
This project will not go forward without the support of the public. Formal support will be sought at the same time of the presidential election in November. Construction can begin as early as spring of 2009.
WE may all have our own reasons to vote no on the renovation.
But…we all have the same reason to vote yes! The kids of Cordova are our future!
Please explore the links below, and consider becoming involved in this process. All documents are in Adobe PDF format. You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader free by clicking here. |
