Bond passes, doubts remain
July 3, 2008 · Updated 10:46 PM
With many self-congratulations the voters have passed approval for a school building bond issue. Questions that must be asked:
1. If, as Superintendent Schulte has stated, an architect must be hired and plans made, how then does anyone know what the costs will be without a specification, a design or a plan of construction and operation?
2. What added costs does this venture entail in continuous operation?
3. What are the limitations imposed by taking on a 40 year old design to be modified to unknown dimensions, i.e. making the school a prisoner of that 40 year old design?
4. Were any alternatives considered to the suggested changes in the building -- if there is no architect, etc., how is it possible to have a sound idea of practical development?
5. Will choosing an architect, etc., be on a competitive basis, and who will guide the competition?
These and other questions really ought to be answered and I pose them not to be of adverse mind, but because several hundred million dollars I have been charged with managing in industrial construction throughout my career. I know that not answering them before they become important is the only way to make sure things are done right.
S. M. Harris
Oak Harbor
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