The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: seismic retrofit

  • Library construction picks up the pace during the pandemic

    Library construction picks up the pace during the pandemic

    The library undergoes seismic retrofit construction

    Humboldt State University’s library has been under construction since 2018 when the contract was set and planned in 2015. The construction project is for the library and the theatre arts buildings on campus, both buildings were not safe regarding seismic activity.

    Jason Baugh, HSU project manager, has been communicating between the contractors and campus on the seismic retrofit project for both buildings.

    “Building safety is to keep these buildings maybe not 100% secure, standing and occupiable after a major earthquake, but getting everyone out safely,” Baugh said.

    The overall goal was to have it safe for seismic activity but other projects and delays started to pile on as time progressed.

    “The California building code changes every three years, the chancellor’s office for the CSU also has their own internal code review and it’s basically mirroring what the California building code is,” Baugh said. “They have their standards where they want all their buildings to adhere to and so that changed and as we submitted plans for review, we missed the code cycle and everything had to be re-evaluated.”

    Setbacks such as new seismic code, modifications in original plans and lower level issues with the foundation have led to longer construction time than anticipated. Recently the project got sprinklers in the library.

    “There was a few areas of the lower library basement, and basically it was where books, some of the special collections library books that they don’t use on a daily basis but are archived for various reasons,” Baugh said. “For some reason, only that area was sprinkled.”

    Changes to the project made the years of construction go on longer than originally thought. The overall budget for the project of both buildings was $20 million plus add ons of almost $4 million dollars.

    Daytime construction has increased due to COVID-19 restrictions. Cyril Oberlander, HSU’s library dean, has been overseeing and delegating people to new temporary areas of work.

    “It also created new opportunities, rather than waiting for the sprinkler project for a couple of years,” Oberlander said. “It’s something we can do now because no one is in the building which is pretty good.”

    Since the library will most likely be closed in the spring semester due to COVID-19, construction will continue at a faster pace. Oberlander is hopeful that students and all HSU personnel will enjoy the new library when things are back to normal.

    “Thank goodness they really were resilient through it because it’s finishing up now,” Oberlander said.

    Jaime Clough, a senior at HSU, had trouble in the previous semester with construction noise and communication of the project’s finishing time.

    “I was in the library every single day. I was there on weekends. I basically lived in the library and it was kind of tricky,” Clough said. “I mean sometimes you have to go through random doors, sometimes the stairwells are closed and you have to go around the backside. You’d be sitting in the nice quiet corner trying to study for finals and all of the sudden there’s a jackhammer on the wall right next to you.”

    Construction is set to be finished around June of 2021. With construction schedules and the library closed, construction could be finished before the fall 2021 semester.

    “June is my goal, I think it’s realistic, as I kind of indicated you don’t know till you dive into things especially with retrofit projects,” Baugh said. “Hoping for the best, I think the end of June is a realistic date and that we may have a month buffer of working through any problems.”

  • Campus Construction Nears Completion

    Campus Construction Nears Completion

    You’ve seen it. You’ve heard it. You’ve become annoyed by it. When will it end?

    The seismic retrofitting project in the Humboldt State University library is a five-year project of additions and renovations to the library that aims to ensure the safety of the building in the event of a major earthquake. Much of the work of the project is done or is underway.

    The completion date of phase three of the project, which includes improvements and expansions to the basement of the library, has been moved to April 14—although there is a chance that it could get moved back again. Much to the dismay of students and faculty, this means jackhammering and drilling will continue throughout the coming weeks. Director of Planning, Design and Construction, Mike Fisher, pointed to a number of factors contributing to the delayed timeline.

    “We have to excavate through a number of existing conditions, and through that action, we reveal things we didn’t know about,” Fisher said.

    An example Fisher mentioned was the stairs in the library needing to be redone as his workers discovered that the original stairs were poorly designed.

    “It’s little instances like that that compound to lead to a time delay,” Fisher said.

    Fisher went on to talk about the permitting process.

    “During the project, we were moving through permitting and one of the jurisdictions having authority is the Office of the State Fire Marshal,” Fisher said. “Their permitting process took much longer than expected and we had to halt production until we could get that permit secured.”

    Fisher also said he and his crew have been working on retrofitting the theatre arts building alongside the library. They considered the theatre arts building to be a higher priority building, as it’s home to regular instruction.

    Deema Hindawi, a senior at HSU and a co-coordinator at the Multicultural Center, is one of many directly feeling the effects of the construction. She said it’s hard for her to function in the MCC both as a student and a co-coordinator because she has had meetings interrupted by construction noise.

    As a critical race, gender and sexuality studies and criminology double major, she has found it difficult to function because she has been constantly battling jackhammering and drilling.

    “It sucks that we don’t really get much of a say in it and it somehow always comes back onto us.”

    Maya Habis

    Hindawi also noted that there used to be a sign on the side of the MCC that was placed there as part of the retrofitting project without taking into consideration the impact of its words.

    “Having people look at that sign is really uncomfortable, especially when you identify as a part of a marginalized community and having to see the sign that constantly is blaring in your face that reads, ‘No trespassing,’” Hindawi said.

    Maya Habis, a junior critical race, gender and sexuality studies major and also a co-coordinator at the MCC, echoed much of what Hindawi said.

    Habis added their own two cents on being moved around to the bungalows and back.

    “It sucks that we don’t really get much of a say in it and it somehow always comes back onto us,” Habis said. “We kind of get put in between these two things—it’s an ultimatum.”

    Dean of the University Library, Cyril Oberlander, said he likes to see himself as part of the student body. He has been told and has noticed for himself that students are not enjoying the noise in the library. He wanted to make it clear that he understands the difficulties of the noise. He invited students and faculty to voice their displeasure with him directly along with suggestions for how he and his staff can make being in the library a better experience for all.

  • Theatre Arts retrofit postponed – again

    Theatre Arts retrofit postponed – again

    By Andrew George Butler

    The grandaddy of all structures on Humboldt State’s deferred maintenance list will have to wait at least another year before seeing some much needed tender love and care. The Theatre Arts building is set to remain atop the list for another year as recent building code changes forced 2017’s earthquake retrofit plans to be put on hold.

    The Theatre Arts building has been on deferred maintenance for over 15 years. In 2017 the building was supposed to receive the renovations it needed. The money was allocated, the plans were drawn up, and the contracts were signed all before 2016 came to a close. The staff of KHSU and other campus offices located in Theatre Arts all had prepared for temporary relocation, a task itself that took months and planning and scrambling.

    The Theatre Arts building at HSU. Photo by Liam Olson

    David Reed, development director of KHSU, was tasked with much of the preparation for what would have been KHSU’s temporary relocation if construction had not been delayed.

    “It’s frustrating, we spent months preparing to move. We have a large operation, many moving parts,” Reed said. “The only good side is that we digitized much of our paperwork in preparation for the move.”

    Fast forward to the beginning of March, 2017. With less than a week until the retrofit was to begin, the HSU office of Facilities Management realized all the planning that went into the retrofit had been worked around a set of building codes that changed January 1, 2017.

    Traci Ferdolage, director of Facilities Management at HSU is in charge of coordinating the construction funds once they are dispersed to HSU from the CSU main office. According to Ferdolage, the building codes, which are periodically reevaluated and changed about every three years, are calculated independently from outside the California State University system by state officials. Construction plans, such as the ones for the Theatre Arts building are issued by the CSU main office in accordance to the building codes in place at that given time.

    “Once the CSU board allocates us the money for a project, we act,” Ferdolage said. “We don’t take into consideration the possibility of changing building codes.”

    The CSU Seismic Peer Review Board periodically sends an independent reviewer to various CSU campuses to conduct a review of the buildings and deem if any retrofits or other construction is needed. The CSU main office then reviews the reports and grants money to campuses based on need.  

    The Theatre Arts building at HSU. Photo by  Liam Olson

    The Theatre Arts building is currently not yet classified as unsafe for use, the proposed construction is to bring the building up to par with the most modern of structural standards.

    “Facilities Management staff have done a wonderful job at keeping the building operational considering the levels of predicted renewal needs not funded by the State,” Ferdolage said.

    Construction on Theatre Arts is expected to begin in May of 2018 according to Ferdolage.

    There is no oversight board between state building officials and the CSU board to ensure that proposed projects are outlined with the most current building codes in mind. Construction grants are expected to be used promptly. The only way a campus can keep receiving grants is to keep spending the money as it comes in. Part of the money given to HSU for the Theatre Arts project was spent on building plans that are now essentially wasted funds. While the CSU chancellor’s office selectively audits how grant money is spent from time to time, there is not full time office or administrator in charge of ensuring that the tuition and taxpayer money used for campus construction is spent as efficiently as possible. That task is left to the university once the money is allocated. The rush to spend, mixed with a lack of communication between offices may not always lead to error, but it does pose the question: Who is in charge of the money?

    “Projects are managed under fairly complex and defined financial guidelines which help ensure taxpayer and student fee money is handled responsibly,” Ferdolage said.

    Building code officials, CSU seismic peer review board, facilities management, and a set of guidelines, all with no unifying oversight have left the Theatre Arts building in limbo for another year.