NEW SCHOOL BUILDINGS
• Ross Wentworth of Naylor, Wentworth, Lund
Architects speaks to the Juab School Board of
Education about the proposed floor plans for new
schools and changes to current schools that voters
will be asked to bond for this fall
By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Is it worth $1 per week per household to update the
present Red Cliffs Elementary, build a new elementary in
south Nephi and add 10 additional classrooms to Mona
Elementary?
However, before voters are asked that question, there
are a lot of answers that need to come this summer.
Some of the topics to be addressed are what the
district wants in terms of buildings because that will
determine more than just the preliminary figures the
architect is now dealing with.
Ross Wentworth of Naylor Wentworth Lund Architects,
PC, Salt Lake City, told Juab School District Board members
that they needed to determine how long a life they wanted
the present Red Cliffs school to last--10 years, 15 years or
40 years?
"We could upgrade the heating and cooling systems to a
digital system," said Wentworth. "The system now in use is
old gear. Your maintenance people have to go to the bone
yard to replace a part."
One thing, however, the maintenance people did not
favor, he said, was the addition of skylights to the
interior part of the building. They feared doing so may
weaken the roof seal.
"Your roof is in good shape and right now it is
tight," he said.
Leon Pexton, board president, attending the meeting
via electronics, said that may be true. "Anytime you cut
into a membrane, things go junk in a hurry."
The engineers of the firm were impressed with the
great job the maintenance people were doing, said Wentworth.
There were not unsafe areas because the building was
well-maintained.
"At Mona, we revisited a simple addition of
10-classrooms," he said.
However, said Wentworth, the district may want to
consider the addition of more activity space.
As for the proposed new Red Cliff's elementary, said
Wentworth, there were many options to be considered.
"The site has soils, known as collapsible soils, that
are tough to build on," he said.
For that reason, a more linear scheme would be an
advantage. Perhaps a smaller, two-story footprint would work
the best.
Wentworth said that the building could be constructed
in "houses" or units for classes, such as a house for the
first grade, a house for the second grade, and so forth.
To create activity space, the classrooms can float
apart so that there can be a lot of community space.
"it is easy to introduce small break-out areas," he
said.
Wentworth had several plans for the district to
consider. There were plans A through D and all had certain
advantages and all could be adapted to the site.
"Proposal C is a two-story building and each grade
level has its own community," said Wentworth. "It would lie
nicely on our site."
All the buildings proposed would be from 76,000 to
80,000 square feet in floor space.
He said that if the district was proposing to house
approximately 750 students in the building, it would need to
have at least that much space.
Superintendent Kirk Wright said that board members had
visited several schools, as had some staff members, and
looked at what the various schools had to offer. Washington
County schools were being built "lean," he said.
"I like concrete construction," said Delanie Hathaway,
board vice-president. "It is less expensive."
Siting the new building so that it faced south would
be difficult because of the sloping terrain and would not
help that much with heating, said Wentworth. The only
benefit that would come from the sun in the winter months
would be if the entry would be located to the south, then it
would help in melting snow on walkways into the
building.
"Building expenses are high right now," said
Wentworth. "We normally used to see 1 to 2 percent
escalation, but now we are seeing 12 percent. We hope that
it goes back to 3 to 4 percent."
"I have never seen a sub come to us before and ask for
us to raise the cost because they cannot make the cost of
materials meet the bid price."
Stacy Brooks, board member, asked if shelving was
included in the price of the building or was considered
furniture and would be an additional expense.
"Mill work items are all part of the construction,"
said Wentworth.
Pexton asked if the present Red Cliffs Elementary
(once the Nephi Elementary) had received a seismic
assessment from the engineering crew who inspected the
building.
"If you are proposing to use the building for just
another 10 years, then we would not suggest you upgrade the
seismic grade. Since it is one-story high, it is not high on
the danger list," said Wentworth.
Some areas of the building, those built before the
1960s standards, may not meet the standards, he said, but if
all of that part of the building were braced it would add $1
million to the price tag. It would only be worth it if the
building were going to need to last for the next 40 to 50
years.
Pexton also wanted to know what was planned for a
heating system for Mona.
Wentworth said that it would be the same heating pump
system now in use in the building.
"Over the next 40 to 50 years, technology will
continue to change," said Wright. "How do you plan for that?
Do you put in more conduit?"
Much of the modern developments seem to be leading
toward wireless.
Wentworth said that installing conduit was not
expensive and may be wise. He said Juan Diego High School
took fiber almost to the desktop of each student.
Technology needed to be able to accommodate projectors
and screens.
"We think predicting the technology of the future is
challenging but we watch developments carefully," he
said.
Board members will look over building plans and will
seek input from parent and teacher groups. They will then
notify Wentworth of that outcome so final drawings can be
prepared.
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