This past Wednesday, the SJ(C?) Trustees met on campus to discuss several things. Among them the sale of Hames PE Center and additional properties to cover a growing debt of over $13 million; An upcoming visit by University of Dubuque officials and donors scheduled for August, which seems to be the latest attempt at finding a suitor; and lastly the lukewarm response thus far from the state.
The Sitka Sentinel covered the meeting and these issues in their Wednesday, June 24th edition, and then followed up on Thursday with news that the city has allocated $5000 to help cover costs associated with the Dubuque visit.
More later...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
SJ Board Meeting
I received this e-mail today from a former SJ Faculty Member:
Due to people asking me about the SJC Board meeting, I thought I would send out an email. There is a public testimony agenda item at the SJC board of trustee meeting next Wed. June 24 at 1300 (1:00) in the afternoon at Rasmusen on campus. If you would like to present or be heard, show up at 1:00
Due to people asking me about the SJC Board meeting, I thought I would send out an email. There is a public testimony agenda item at the SJC board of trustee meeting next Wed. June 24 at 1300 (1:00) in the afternoon at Rasmusen on campus. If you would like to present or be heard, show up at 1:00
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Enough Already: Sheldon Jackson will not reopen.
Why should it? Why would anyone want it to?
Don't mistake my sentiments for cynicism or pessimism. Simply put, the evidence just doesn't point to any reopening. For example:
The former college is carrying debt of over $12 million. The only way to to pay it off is to sell property. Selling every perimeter property doesn't come close to this figure. Add to this the start up costs of reopening the college. Deferred maintenance of several millions, recruiting staff and students, etc. would likely cost upwards of $50 million.
SJ(C?) is no longer accredited nor licensed to operate a college. This means that no federal aid is available. So add the costs of scholarships to the above figure, as well as the difficulty of attracting students to a formerly failed school without accreditation.
Most importantly, the Board of Trustees of Sheldon Jackson College have failed to persuade anyone that they should be responsible for running a college. The same people who fired employees and sent students packing with no notice are still there. I don't want them running any organization that requires a commitment to the welfare of students. Ever.
The effort now should be to preserve the campus core for history's sake, as well as for potential new uses; to call for the dissolution of Sheldon Jackson College as an entity, and to look to future organizations and leaders to bring about a new mission and purpose for a once proud institution.
The current one just has too much baggage.
Don't mistake my sentiments for cynicism or pessimism. Simply put, the evidence just doesn't point to any reopening. For example:
The former college is carrying debt of over $12 million. The only way to to pay it off is to sell property. Selling every perimeter property doesn't come close to this figure. Add to this the start up costs of reopening the college. Deferred maintenance of several millions, recruiting staff and students, etc. would likely cost upwards of $50 million.
SJ(C?) is no longer accredited nor licensed to operate a college. This means that no federal aid is available. So add the costs of scholarships to the above figure, as well as the difficulty of attracting students to a formerly failed school without accreditation.
Most importantly, the Board of Trustees of Sheldon Jackson College have failed to persuade anyone that they should be responsible for running a college. The same people who fired employees and sent students packing with no notice are still there. I don't want them running any organization that requires a commitment to the welfare of students. Ever.
The effort now should be to preserve the campus core for history's sake, as well as for potential new uses; to call for the dissolution of Sheldon Jackson College as an entity, and to look to future organizations and leaders to bring about a new mission and purpose for a once proud institution.
The current one just has too much baggage.
Friday, June 5, 2009
David Sweetland Hall
I still frequently have people stop, call or e-mail me who think the school will reopen. When I tell people that all the buildings are in bad shape and need lots ans lots work people often think I’m over reacting.
Anyway the other day I was looking through some old photos I have from when I worked at SJ and I came across these photos taken during the summer of 2004. These are before we did repair work on the West 100 shower room. This damage was done from water leaking into the walls and floor in the showers. This damage was done because of poor construction techniques. Keep in mind that there are 7 more shower rooms in Sweetland Hall and I can tell you that all of them have similar damage. The last time I crawled under South 100 during the summer of 07 the rot looked this bad or worse. In fact in 2007 there was a hole all the way through the exterior wall big enough to put my hand through. So, I think I can safely assume that the inside of the South 100 wall looks worse than what you see in the posted photos.
Anyway the other day I was looking through some old photos I have from when I worked at SJ and I came across these photos taken during the summer of 2004. These are before we did repair work on the West 100 shower room. This damage was done from water leaking into the walls and floor in the showers. This damage was done because of poor construction techniques. Keep in mind that there are 7 more shower rooms in Sweetland Hall and I can tell you that all of them have similar damage. The last time I crawled under South 100 during the summer of 07 the rot looked this bad or worse. In fact in 2007 there was a hole all the way through the exterior wall big enough to put my hand through. So, I think I can safely assume that the inside of the South 100 wall looks worse than what you see in the posted photos.
In the top photo VIM Vern Boyer shows the rot after he pulled off the siding and sheeeting on the exterior wall. In the 2nd photo you can see how rotted the floor joist that are under the shower room. And in the 3rd photo you can see the damge done by ants.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Hames Assessment
Over the past two days CTA Architects Engineers a large nation wide firm has been doing a complete assessment of the Hames PE Center. I was asked to be part of the team that did the on sight work. I have to say working with these folks, that they left few if any stones unturned. In other words the field work was top notch and very professional. There was also several other local people on the team including a local architect, surveyor, building contractor, several city employees and an earth excavator. CTA brought with them 5 highly qualified engineers that looked at the building envelope, mechanical systems, electrical systems and the pool. Bob Jones the Head Engineer from CTA said the report to the city should be done by the 15th of July. His mandate to the crew was to look at all the problems and figure out how to make improvements that will last 30 years with normal maintenance. CTA will do a complete cost analyses and this will be part of the report.
All in all CTA feels the building is in better shape than assumed and that cost may not be as high as some had feared, including myself. I know I’m anxiously waiting to see the results.
With any luck another part of the old SJC campus might survive.
All in all CTA feels the building is in better shape than assumed and that cost may not be as high as some had feared, including myself. I know I’m anxiously waiting to see the results.
With any luck another part of the old SJC campus might survive.
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