Showing posts with label Professional services. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Professional services. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Page Middle School News, Gloucester, VA

What we report is the news you were never told and what Gloucester Officials do not want you to see.  Why?  Because it opens a lot of questions as to what is going on in the county and we keep showing how county officials like to waste your tax dollars and could care less about the people they were asked to represent.  It seems like it's a private country club for the privileged where the rules are made up as they go along as long as it serves their interests, but not yours.

Here is more of what they would rather you never see.

*In April 2010 RRMM was awarded a professional services contract to provide services for the potential of repurposing Page Middle School into a school administration and operations center.

*In April 2011 Page was damaged by a tornado.

*In June 2011 a request for professional services was publicized.

*In July 2011 eleven proposals for professional services were received.

*On August 9, 2011 five options for rebuilding Page were presented by RRMM.  Option 1 was recommended (build a 6 thru 9 middle school on TC Walker Road property, demo old page with the exception of the gym and auditorium and build a new school administration and operations center.

*On August 25, 2011 the school board voted to approve option 1.

*In January 2012 RRMM was awarded the professional services contract to provide services to review the potential of reconstructing Page.

*In June 2012 Page was completely torn down.
 
Three questions:

1.         Why was the County paying RRMM for services after April 2011 without competitive sealed bidding or competitive negotiations for the services?

2.         Who is going to reimburse Gloucester tax payers for the gym and auditorium (both real property) that were to remain, but were torn down?

3.         What was going to happen with Page students when the old Page school was repurposed?

RESPONSE:

RRMM Architects provided services under an ‘open-to-buy’ contract for professional consulting services that was awarded to seven (7) firms, of which RRMM Architects was one of the providers.  These contracts were awarded under a formal competitive negotiation process that was advertised on October 30, 2009.  RRMM was awarded their contract for these consulting services on April 21, 2010.  RRMM Architects assisted with the damage assessment following the tornado and also facilitated the community group that proposed long-term solutions for the loss of Page Middle School.
 
Prior to the tornado, Page Middle School was considered as a possible location for centralized administrative services, but only after a new middle school was to be built in accordance with the School Board’s Capital Improvements Plan.
 
Have a good weekend.
 
 
Ben Kiser


Now has anyone noticed that even though there was a response to the questions asked, the questions were never answered?  Never. The response did not touch any part of the questions.  You do this when you have issues to hide.  It's a very old game.  Now The Kiser is supposed to be an educated man with a Doctorates degree.  We find it very difficult to believe that he does not understand the questions.  For him to even state he did not understand the questions would prove to be very disturbing as he is in charge of the education of the county's children.  Intel coming in is getting more disturbing by the day.





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Sunday, October 13, 2013

Gloucester, VA Page Middle School Construction Information

We continue to receive more information on the Page Middle School decisions process.  We think everyone will find the information below very interesting.


"County records reflect the Page Middle School building, its contents and property in the open were insured for a total of $13,513,744 at the time of the April 2011 tornado.  At the end of the negotiation process, the insurance carrier’s settlement offer to fund returning the school to an upgraded and functional state was $8,235,687. Due to initial low estimates by the insurance carrier, the County contracted RRMM Architects to provide an in depth assessment and analysis of the damage.  In RRMM’s assessment and analysis packet they elaborate on their solid knowledge of the building and its general character due to an April 2009 contract with the County to do a study on conversion of Page Middle school into an Administrative Operations Center. This professional services contract was extended about a month prior to the tornado. (This makes it clearly evident of the County’s intent to keep the building and property long term.)  In their assessment RRMM noted several areas in which they disagreed with the insurance carrier’s assessment.  In all fairness to RRMM, the areas they disagreed with appear to be justified and would have enhanced the safety, quality and durability of the building significantly.  RRMM’s final estimate of damages was $9,994,355.  That is a difference of $1,758,668 with both estimates being under the $13,513,744 coverage limit. 
 
Because of its age it is only reasonable that the utility infrastructure servicing the building would have needed to be upgraded or replaced.   These costs would in no way have been as high as what it will now cost to install the same infrastructure to the school site on T.C. Walker Road.  The parking and driveway areas would have needed to be upgraded to compliment the rest of the re-construction.  For arguments sake, let’s say all of that would have cost $2,000,000. (Very high estimate)  Let’s say RRMM’s estimate turned out to be the correct cost to rebuild.  Let’s say the County kicked in another $2,000,000 to make the building even better and storm shelter capable.  That would have been a total of $5,758,668 that the County would have contributed to opening a fully functional school building.
 
How did this repair and reconstruct project that should have cost the County less than $6,000,000 out of pocket turn into a twenty plus million dollar project that is going to result in tax increases beginning next year and substantial loan interest payments for twenty years?"
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