A rise in constructions costs has created setbacks for Measure G renovation projects at Bakersfield College.
The board has held two of a series of meetings that will prioritize the sequencing of projects around campus. Another preliminary meeting will be held on Feb. 7 at 3 p.m. to organize project data and input from faculty to determine where projects funds need to be directed.
Vice President of Students Ken Meier said that the No. 1 priority at this point is vertical access compliance.
Vertical access refers to how the campus handles proper facilities, such as elevators and wheelchair ramps that are addressed in the American Disabilities Act.
“Those are issues that have to be addressed no matter how expensive they are,” said Meier.
Herb Siegers, the MAAS Co. project manager at the BC campus said that the district will be evaluating the full-time.estimated.students at all district campuses to see which programs and areas of campus have a large enrollment of students. From the data gathered at that point, the Kern Community College District can determine what changes will need to be taken on each campus, he said.
The purpose of the sequencing is to appropriate necessary “swing space” that is available during renovations. Swing space refers to the amount of space available for employees who will have to move out of a building temporarily while it is being modernized. Siegers said that if the strategy of the sequencing can be arranged so that employees have a place to go while their building undergoes construction that it will spare the district the cost of renting portable office buildings to accommodate staff. The district office has already temporarily relocated to a location on California Avenue, and some employees have been relocated to portables on the BC campus.
Construction has already started on the Applied Science and Technology building at BC. The $135,000 roof for the facility was completed in time for the winter and spring rains.
Siegers said that the AST building is going to be completed in two phases. Phase one is expected to make the welding and machine labs available for classes by April 5 of this year. Phase two will cover the completion of the wood and auto shops and is projected to be finished by Aug. 10.
The five-month modernization process of the planetarium in the Math and Science Building is expected to begin at the end of May 2005. The upgrade will replace the existing 24-foot dome with a 36-foot one and will increase the seating capacity to 70 seats. Siegers also said that the plans for the new planetarium are awaiting approval from the Division of the State Architect.
BC and the Delano Joint Union High School District have purchased approximately 50 acres in the Delano area and are planning to build a cooperative use facility that would include a multipurpose building and new library.
Other BC projects that are being considered for sequencing include updating and strategically placing emergency phones on campus, a modernization of the Student Services Building, construction of athletic field facilities, updating vertical access compliance in Memorial Stadium, asbestos abatement and modernization of the Weill Center, which is currently in progress, and construction of new Allied Health Buildings for BC and Delano campuses.
“We’re doing some long-range planning,” said BC interim president Lincoln Hall.
Hall also said that some of the projects, if sequenced, could have completion dates as far off as 2012.
There is still a lot of red tape to cut through, though. Once the board has approved a sequencing plan for BC, the plans will have to be approved at the district level. Committees from Cerro Coso and Porterville colleges will submit plans for their schools, and the district will evaluate the needs of all schools and then develop a plan that will be submitted to the state for approval as well as try to seek matching funds for projects.
Vice President of Student Services Bill Cordero said that even if everything went well from today, that there would still be 18 months or more at the state level before any of the projects could begin.