Editor’s note: Bids for this project will be opened Thursday, July 25. An open-to-the-public meeting of the Pamlico County Commission and the Board of Education is set for 5pm on Tuesday, July 30, at the school system administrative office in Bayboro. We thank Mr. Allison for his diligence in examining this project on behalf of taxpayers.
BAYBORO – People have asked when did this project begin? Why has the project been so secretive? When was the architect engaged? When were the $50 million and $12 million grants found? When were they applied for? Besides the combination of two schools, what are its salient requirements that must be met to fulfill the grant specifications? Are people aware architects usually are paid a percentage of the project cost? Where will construction laborers come from, and where will they live during the approximately 18 months of construction?
The 6th thru 12th grades Pamlico School will not have an EIFS (Exterior Insulation Finishing System) which I described in my article last week. Instead, the exterior will be brick with a “Rain Screen” wall system, which my architect friend likes very much. It is superior to the EIFS construction. Are bricks capable of offering bullet protection? If so, to what extent? Why aren’t gunshot wound kits available in each room and instruction given to students and teachers to learn to use them?
This past week, I took a deep dive into the plan and specifications books. Many thanks to Ray Bennett, Pamlico County Building Inspector, for his assistance in the plan review. A very daunting task. The school halls are mostly straight, which provides easy line-of-sight by any shooter bent on causing deaths. One area of the school has 18 rooms with 5 of them having exterior doors in addition to the interior doors! We still don’t know if the doors are bulletproof or bullet resistant. While we are on the subject of student safety, there are a lot of glass exterior windows and doors. Are they bulletproof or resistant? The two perpetrators at Columbine High School had planned for their bombs to go off and then they’d shoot the students as they exited the school. All the bombs failed to explode.
The lack of a cost-figure for demolition for the Middle School apparently was NOT an oversight. The plan is to sell the 18-acre property to offset some of the cost. One has to think that if the school is found unfit by the school system for use, then the purchaser would be looking for the land value. However, if the rumor is true that only a portion of the Middle School floods from Category 3 and higher hurricanes, then lifting the flood-prone portion is an easy fix. An approximation in cost obtained from Ace House Movers in the Norfolk area pegs the cost for lifting a building approximately 100 feet by 200 feet at $800,000. Then concrete block must be added to support the walls, plumbing and electrical would have to be added, plus any HVAC changes.
Since the new school will be built on the site of the current football/track stadium, where will our Pamlico Hurricanes conduct their sports practices and competitions? Will all their competitions have to be Away Games, with no home field advantage? Will the community travel to ‘wherever’ to support our student athletes?
Geothermal (discussed last week) is quite an engineering system. I obtained a quick overview from the engineering firm in Charlotte. The current (preliminary) plans call for 362 (that is not a misprint) wells to be drilled on the property, each to a depth of 300 feet. They are spaced 20 feet apart and are 4.25 inches in diameter. They rise about four feet above ground (I assume to prevent polluted runoff water from poisoning the Castle Hayne aquifer). That aquifer, of course, is the source of the Pamlico County Water system and any private wells that homeowners may have.
Inside each proposed well are two pipes, allowing a fluid to enter one pipe to go to the bottom where a “U” fitting connects the two pipes, causing the fluid to come out of the other pipe. Another pipe connects the output of one well to the input of the next well. Each well is filled with a mixture of rock and sand to improve heat transfer to the well-pipe and then to the surrounding wet earth in the aquifer. What is to be done to keep kids from breaking the well pipes or using them for graffiti?
Yes, there will be WiFi for Internet. And worse yet, it is 5G. Besides that, 6th and 7th graders will be subjected to it no matter where they go, including on the playground. Unless the system is password protected, anyone with a laptop or smart phone can go on the school grounds and have access to the Internet. Will there be a firewall to protect the school system from liability or hacking?
Yes, there will be Solar Photovoltaic Panels. In fact some 1,066 of them! The panels will be mounted on skids that merely rest on the roof (with no fasteners). Can that be a good idea with hurricanes and tornadoes around eastern NC? The electrical engineer for this project is contacting the solar vendor to get some questions answered. Can EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse) insurance be arranged for the panels and inverters? The solar system is designed for a 20-year full power warranty and an end-of-life at 25 years – when the output drops to 80 percent of full design power. The engineer will try to find out how the panels will be disposed of. He does know about the cadmium problem (toxic waste) that prevents disposal in landfills. So how will the school system legally dispose of the panels? Where will the panels be manufactured? Why is that important? Three things must be considered. (1) If they are Chinese, we are supporting our sworn enemy. (2) Chinese panels may be cheaper than American panels; however, replacements will only be available from China due to their ratings, dimensions, and panel weight. (3) American panels will increase the replacement cost and we do not know how much prices will escalate, but you can bet today’s prices will seem like a dream in 20 to 25 years.
One of the approved vendors for the roofing is Sarnifil, a Swiss product. I am very familiar with this product as I was Chair of Trustees for our church in Colorado when we had two projects to replace the roofs on our church at the combined total of approximately $200,000. We used 60 mil sheets and Sarnifil supplied underlayment products — and we received a 30 year warranty. I have tried to contact Sarnifil regarding these questions: Will the heat from the solar panels above the roof material cause it to dry out and crack? Will that void the Warranty? Will the weight of the panel mount skids break the fiberglass scrim in the roofing sheets? Are all 480 watt solar panels the same dimensions among all vendors? Are 480 watt panels available from multiple vendors? Otherwise, the frames will have to be modified to hold the new panels. Will the modifications add or subtract weight when the new panels are considered? Too light and the panels could blow off in a strong hurricane. Too heavy and the roofing material could crack or creep.
More tough questions: Since the present high school must be demolished, why is there no line item for that part of the project? Why are the county taxpayers being asked to buy all new furniture for this new school? Why are we destroying a perfectly good high school that has only recently paid off the remodel of the kitchen and a specialty teaching room? Why can’t the existing kitchen equipment be reused in the new school? Why are we destroying the athletic field/track only to have to spend millions to replace it? Why can’t the primary and elementary schools be combined? Why is there no area on the first floor that can protect the students from tornadoes? Why are there spaces designated for pigs and bees on the new school property? What are the chances a student might get stung by all the bees? What about the odor from the pigs?
The new proposed school will have cost overruns. It is practically guaranteed. I went out late Tuesday afternoon (July 23) to examine the buildings and grounds of the primary, elementary, and middle schools. I was appalled at the lack of maintenance on those three schools. For example, Fred A. Anderson Elementary had wasp nests under the walkway covers. There was rust there too. Interior ceiling panels needed replacement. One walkway had a roof leak about two feet from the door to enter the school. The Primary School ‘Thermopane’ windows have sprung leaks and moisture has condensed between the panes.
The Middle School needs French drains to stop mosquito breeding ponds. Twelve-pair telephone lines on the side of one building are cut. The concrete exterior wall parts need paint badly. The outside dropped ceiling supports are rusty and the panels need replacing.
Why on earth would you turn over a new building with “State-Of-The-Art” features when there is evidence of maintenance neglect for current school buildings? It may be necessary to hire qualified workers or contract out the work to maintain the new school.
As an aside, a problem has arisen regarding roofing status on residential homes. Some insurance companies are requiring roof replacement within 15 years of its last installation. If a similar requirement for the new school roof is, or will be, in effect for commercial properties with a similar time frame, it could be a financial and logistics nightmare since the solar panels will have to be disconnected, lifted off the roof via crane, the roofing materials stripped off and replaced, and the panels lifted back onto the roof and reconnected. The panels’ remaining lifespan would require replacement in 7 to 10 more years. Then in another five years the panels would be removed again for roof replacement. This is a potential maintenance headache!
Let’s talk money. The Board of Commissioners made an agreement with the Pamlico School system to fund $3.7 million of the project. The agreement was made when interest rates were lower. I ran the numbers based on a USDA backed 15 year loan at 8.0 percent. Remember, there are a lot of “Ifs” in this analysis. Can a loan be had on those terms? The payment (if the county can get that good a of a rate) amounts to $35,359.42 per month. This is an annual amount of $424,313.04. This eats up the two cent tax increase the Commissioners recently passed to help balance the county budget.
This means the Commissioners may be required to raise property taxes again next year – by the same amount – just to cover service on the loan! The county budget for 2024/2025 is $25.8 million. The school system budget is in the ballpark of $23 million.
This latter figure ($23 million) is a SWAG: ‘Scientific Wild Ass Guess’ (a standard engineering term). Since the Commissioners have never been given a detailed school system budget in over 15 years, this is the best guess available.
My editor and I have a difference of opinion on the war possibility, which is relevant because I am recommending insurance against an EMP attack. My take on it is that WWIII has already begun! If so, there is no way to rule out the use of an ElectroMagnetic Pulse weapon, which could destroy ALL electronics – computers, cell phones, radio and TV, cars, non-incandescent light bulbs, telephones, the internet, and all digital money.
Oh, well. Let’s get back to the topic at hand, doing so with one final question:
Are Pamlico County and its school system really in a position to spend $70 million for a new 6-12 school when this is one of the poorest counties in eastern North Carolina?
Gordon is a frequent contributor to The County Compass
