Another building with problems
By Chris Walker (Contact)
Originally published 01:39 p.m., January 23, 2008
Updated 01:39 p.m., January 23, 2008
Five years ago the community rejoiced when the new Emporia Animal Shelter was built on Hatcher Street. The new facility was more inviting and much improved over the former shelter, which had a bit of an Auschwitz feel to it.
Unfortunately in tonight’s paper we profile the building problems at the new animal shelter.
The shelter is only five years old but already has a leaking roof and a sinking foundation, which is causing problems with doors. When it rains hard, “it’s almost like a small creek running through there,” said Emporia Police Lt. Pat Ford.
When it comes to city buildings with problems, the animal shelter is not the only one that has issues.
Recently the city hired a consultant to study the problems at Fire Station 2. The fire station has been having problems with maintenance issues like mold, concrete problems and a poor HVAC system.
Taxpayers are paying good sums of money to have these buildings built and to start having problems with them after five years or 35 years is not acceptable. These buildings are expensive, and the community needs to be asking what is being done to protect the investments of taxpayers.
When the consultant comes to study Fire Station 2 perhaps he should also stop by the animal shelter.
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
whoever hires the builders needs to have an eye for quality
January 23, 2008 at 2:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
neighbor (anonymous) says...
Perhaps the City should stiffen their requirements/specs for foundations and improve drainage in that section of town.
January 23, 2008 at 3:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hartford (anonymous) says...
Who are we getting to build around here anyway? Way to many problems! I doubt they are all the same builder but come on guys!
January 23, 2008 at 3:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
Who built these places? $350,000.00 and wow 5 years later they are faling apart. What was wrong with the old shelter that couldnt be repaired for $350,000.00?
January 23, 2008 at 3:32 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
orlando (anonymous) says...
where was the building inspector? like hartford said---way too manyproblems with new buildings around here.
January 23, 2008 at 3:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
Maybe its time the Building inspector be inspected!
January 23, 2008 at 3:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
outdoorguy (anonymous) says...
The dog shelter was built exactly how it was designed. Maybe some one should look at who signed the drawings, not who drove the screws..
January 23, 2008 at 4:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
olddog (anonymous) says...
No wonder it's falling apart. I always thought you use a screwdriver to put screws in not DRIVE them in. LMAO!
January 23, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kansasgirl (anonymous) says...
I'm with everyone else. Who is checking the quality of these buildings when they are being built. Can you imagine if Wolf Creek was built by any of the builders doing the city's buildings. I believe there are supposed to be procedures in place to follow the construction of city buildings. Am I wrong?
January 23, 2008 at 5:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hottopics (anonymous) says...
I agree, just fix it!! You think raising our taxes some more makes a difference now? We pay for it, we pay for it again, we pay for it some more, thats EMPORIA!!!!
January 23, 2008 at 6:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporian (anonymous) says...
Maybe if we quit taking the low bid all the time...
January 23, 2008 at 6:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
justthinkin (anonymous) says...
Maybe the City shouldn't hire a contractor unless they are willing to guarantee their work. Then, the City needs to hold the contractor accountable. But something tells me that hasn't, doesn't, and probably won't happen. Wouldn't want to upset the Good Old Boys, now would we. Who built it anywant?
January 23, 2008 at 8:02 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rdgrey (anonymous) says...
If my house begins to leak and foundation starts to crack in the next 5 years you think the city will jump in to help me? NO im on my own......Its your building....you picked it....you figure out a way to fix it without our help!....get the city manager out there and a few others from city hall and issue them out some tool belts and make them do something constructive for a change!
January 24, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dhcc66 (anonymous) says...
ok first of all, just because somebody drew something on an architects board, that doesn't mean that the builder compacted the soil correctly or that they used the exact materials to spec. Maybe they didn't let the concrete dry correctly or used a poor quality material. Face it, contractors sometimes take shortcuts to get things done on time.
Who WAS the contractor?? Maybe they should be answering some of the questions. Oh, and rdgrey, maybe you should have a new home built. my friend's came with a warranty and the builder has stood by it. not all of them do, but the city could at least ask for a basic one against poor workmanship or poor quality materials.
lastly, for those of you complaining about the consultants and the fixes the city has to use, maybe you should stop complaining when they want to spend more money up front to build a higher quality building or hire a higher priced contractor who has build the kind of building being put up??
regardless, my house is 30 years old and has none of the problems of Fire Station 2 or the Animal Shelter.....
January 24, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
Tre, I'm so glad you mentioned this cakecrete stuff. This gives me an idea about my garage floor that has an ugly crack. Trouble is, when you get a concrete guy to look at it, the first thing they want to do is put in a new floor.
I'm with Emporian -- quit taking the low bid. Remember the flooring in the new courthouse?
January 24, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )