In lieu of having 1/2 of my democracy needs being short changed by not having the opportunity to hear the 'Against' arguments in the King County voter pamphlet for this HUGE, two high school replacement Bond project, I guess I'll have to make contrary arguments myself.
Will structures be quality buildings that can last? I'll bet my house that was built in 1951 could last another 50+ years if maintained. Why do we really NEED to tear down and rebuild both schools right now? That has not been completely explained to me.
What if they really just need to be revamped, and added onto, like most folks do with their houses? Saving materials is VERY GREEN and a great way to teach students how to be good stewards of their planet, too.
If we are spending over 150 million dollars during these times, I expect to get near perfect results. For me, near perfect must include the Greenest structures that are made to last several times as long as the current ones have been deemed to have. What is the estimated life of the new structures?
I certainly can't afford any more expenditures than is really necessary, either. The contractors involved are not the only ones who could use cash. We all could use that money for maintaining our houses and to eat, especially during these times.
Being a recipient AND the ultimate decision maker of what MEGA taxes are used for is the ultimate privilege in my opinion and MUST be handled with utmost care every single step of the way. I will have to say that some steps have been skipped over and I don't mean only the Museum step, which should have been well thought out and decided waaaaaaay before hour 11:59.
Julie Houff
Shoreline
I completely agree, Before I'll vote in a new levy there has to be a better plan in place, I think both high schools' being newer than most houses around here, should not be replaced, but fixed, as it would be a much cheaper option and right now with the budget crisis going on, we need cheaper options.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the issues brought up by both Ms. Houff and the commentor, and invite them both to tour both high schools and review the seismic reports and other technical information. I think they will be convinced.
ReplyDeleteThere are reason why we need to construct them now; 1. There is federal and state matching money that will not be available if we dont start construction soon 2. Construction cost are very low right now 3. This is a REPLACEMENT bond. It is a continuation of the CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT bond that was passed a few years ago which included money to assess the condition of the schools and design replacements.
Lastly, I am no expert in construction, but I would venture to guess that to try and "add on" or "revamp" the buildings would cost far more than to build new ones. Shorewood was not even designed to be a high school! It was the result of a failed levy in the 70's. The levy failed and we couldnt build the new high school, so they took an old middle school and elementary school and stuck 'em together. Again, go spend a day there and see what you think. Then cast your vote.