St. Lucie schools' storm cleanup costly

[Guest guest]

St. Lucie schools' storm cleanup costly

By Hong

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/local_news/epaper/2006/01/

20/m1b_slskul_0120.html?cxtype=rss & cxsvc=7 & cxcat=17

Friday, January 20, 2006

FL.

An independent review of the St. Lucie County School District's $83

million project to get rid of mold and other hurricane-related

damage in schools concluded that the project was not " readily cost-

effective " but that the district, under pressure to reopen schools

as quickly as possible, had little choice in the matter.

The district contracted Environmental & Geosciences of Miami

Lakes to clear and repair all of St. Lucie's 400-plus buildings

after Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in September 2004.

So far, the St. Lucie district has paid the company about $83

million for the project, a large chunk of a mounting $108 million

repair bill for the 2004 storms, according to figures released by

the district.

District officials said the company's steep hurricane-cleanup bill

couldn't be avoided.

" Somebody could have gone up and said, 'Oh, you should have gone on

double sessions and closed down a school' in order to cut down on

recovery costs, " district Chief Financial Officer Tim Bargeron said

recently. " We never considered that an option because we didn't

think that would be good for the students. "

Wadatz, a certified industrial hygienist and project officer

for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, wrote in a July memo

that the company's work was thorough and well-documented but added

that the cost was " still open to question. "

The memo was included in the consultant's review, which was

conducted by ZHA, an Orlando-based consulting firm, and submitted to

the district last September.

Bargeron said the district ordered the review as a way to double-

check the company's work.

" In a post-hurricane recovery effort, a lot of things were done more

quickly than in routine operations, " he said.

Wadatz also wrote that mold remediation efforts could have been

done " in a more systematic manner, " but that pressure to reopen

schools quickly and avert potential health problems kept the

district from taking a more cost-efficient, ordered approach.

" The driving force for prioritizing mold remediation efforts (has)

been complaints from the teachers and students, not necessarily

extent of damage, " Wadatz wrote.

Wadatz went on to recommend that the district keep an eye on

exterior building repairs, ongoing mold remediation and cleaning of

ventilation systems.

Students missed about a month of school after Frances and Jeanne,

the longest of any district in the state after the 2004 storms.

State education officials were pressuring the district to reopen

schools as quickly as possible, district officials said at the time.

Just finding a remediation company after the back-to-back storms was

difficult, Bargeron said, and the district wasn't able to run

through its usual bid process to hire one.

The company was recommended by the district's insurance

adjuster, Bargeron said.

Shortly after students returned to schools after the storms, parents

and teachers began complaining about health problems they believed

were caused by mold or ongoing cleanup work.

To calm fears, the district set up a tracking system in order to

respond to complaints and fix any apparent cleanup problems.

Crews worked weekends and night shifts, racking up overtime pay.

They also had to spend time each shift setting up and packing away

equipment in order to allow classes to resume during the days. That

made the work drawn-out and costly, according to the consultant's

review.

At the same time crews were repairing roofs, windows and air ducts

as problems were discovered.

A more ordered cleanup and remediation plan would have meant

completing outside building repairs before moving indoors, the

consultant said.

Time constraints made that nearly impossible, district officials

said.

" All bets are off when a hurricane hits, " facilities director Alan

Gilbert said. " You just try to get things done as quickly as

possible. "

Gilbert said has finished all major hurricane cleanup and

repair projects, but crews are still helping to install portables.