David Barajas is a 19-year-old marketing major and was a frequent visitor of the old library. After going inside the new facility, he and his pal Patrick Meyers, 19, sat in the shade on pyramid-like seats alongside the brightly tiled stairs that lead to the library’s foyer.

“It’s a lot more clean and organized than the old one,” Barajas said. “After a long day you can just sit there and study and be comfortable.”

Meyers, an economics major, said he liked the all of the space there is to study and the new restrooms.

“I thought it was nice and open,” Meyers said. “The bathrooms were clean. They were nice–actually I think the nicest bathrooms on the campus.”

Tim Hamilton, 19, and Shannelle Ortiz, 20, were tucked away in a cubby halfway around the second floor looking out a large, circular window at the still-closed courtyard.

“It’s nice–spacious. You’ve got the nice view,” Hamilton said. “You’ve got more little cubbies. At the other one, you wouldn’t be able to get your space to study.”

Ortiz was also surprised by the expansive second-floor study areas.

“I thought it was just the open study area, but then I came over here and they had the closed ones which I like–to have my privacy,” she said.

Librarian Lauren Valdes said that during the first two days the library was open, their systems registered more than 4,000 entrances to the library.

With the new couches, tables and views of the inner courtyard and mountains, the library has a relaxed and leisurely feeling, Valdes said.

“Most seem really happy. I think a lot are disappointed they cannot bring their food and coffee in because it’s very lounge-like, but we’re trying to keep it clean,” Valdes said.

The Library’s computers and WiFi access are still buggy at the new facility. So, Business 3220 opened on Friday to serve as the temporary computer lab until the new technology is resolved, the new Library Department’s website reads.

Students like 19-year-old Chris Krupnick are looking forward to the whole experience once the entire library project is complete.

“Our library is going to be in comparison to a university library,” he said. “We’ve got the courtyard going. I heard there is a cafeteria going to be happening. We’ve got a nice setup here.”

In an interview with The Roundup, Cadena explained the status of current construction and plans for the future time line of completion.

The large white tent has been their since refurbishment began  on the celebrated building last year.

It’s there because the program is still needed–even without a permanent home– and students need a place to improve their craft with as little disruption as possible, according to Cadena.

The building will be under construction until about February, but that deadline may be extended due to the cost of the construction.

The tent is not free to use, according to Cadena.

It had to be rented and Pierce College has it until summer of next year.

The temporary structure is located across the street from both the Center for Sciences and the Child Development Center, near Parking Lot 7.

To speed up the process of getting the building completed and removing the tent, Pierce College would have to set a cost equation anyone could work through or pay the workers overtime, according to Cadena.

This is one more indicator of how tightly the purse strings are being pulled on campus and throughout the Los Angeles Community College District.

For more information and updates, visit www.theroundupnews.com.

The district had originally deemed 10 projects eligible for early release, but administration decided to ask to be able to move forward with only six of them, college president Kathleen Burke-Kelly said in a Pierce College Council meeting last month.

The projects that qualified were either a remodel of an existing facility or an infrastructure project, not buildings that were looking to add additional square feet, she said.

The six projects decided upon were the Performing Arts Building renovation, Mason Avenue reroute, classroom modernization and technology upgrade of the classrooms south of the Pierce Mall, landscape and campus accessibility for both the South of Mall and the De Soto Avenue/Mason Avenue entrance, and campus-wide utilities extensions.

Among the building projects, two deal with landscape and accessibility, one deals with a student learning environment, and one deals with parking lot improvement.

In taking them off the construction moratorium, the district will be expending a total of $33 million, according to the final expanded moratorium list released by Build-LACCD.

The four other projects that qualified, but were not chosen, for early release are the expanded automotive and new technical education facilities, West Central Plant, and parking lot and roadway projects by the anthropology and geography building and for lots 5 and 6.

“There were some projects that we could have asked for, but there were still some issues with the remaining buildings,” Burke-Kelly said during the meeting.

She cited the West Central Plant as an example. The plant is associated with the project to expand the automotive facility, but because of design awarding issues, it wasn’t one of the projects chosen to move forward with.

“I think the president [Burke-Kelly] is trying to be very fair and accommodating [with the projects],” Tom Fortune, chairman of the Industrial Technology department, said.

Renovations for the Performing Arts Building project, which already has a contractor, will begin sometime next week, according to Project Deputy Director Ed Cadena.

“We’re very excited,” Valorie Grear, professor of theater arts, said. “This is not only great news for the Performing Arts department, but it’s going to be a showpiece for the entire campus.”

The campus now plans to proceed with looking for a consultant to help with the reevaluation of the other projects not included in the early release, according to Cadena.

“Because of the moratorium, the campus has to make decisions as to how to execute projects they can’t finish,” he said. “[We’re applying] the measure of master planning so that we can address not only budgets and educational projects, but also be responsible to things the moratorium is speaking to.”

The construction moratorium was implemented by LACCD so that they could evaluate whether or not they could afford to maintain and operate projects under its 14-year, $6 billion Building Program.

“In essence, the district’s evaluation of the candidates does show that there won’t be an increase in maintenance requirements,” Cadena said. “Some, [like parking lots] don’t even involve maintenance and operation.”

Link: http://www.build-laccd.org/bidding_and_contracting/content/documents/dashboard/Moratorium/Moratorium_Project_List_2012_03_21_rev2.pdf

The moratorium was originally implemented in order to determine whether, considering heavy state funding cuts, it could afford to maintain and operate the projects under its 14-year, $6 billion Building Program.

The postponement also addresses the issues of the effects of a $100 million shortfall and the possible change in the needs of the nine campuses in the decade since the Building Program’s bond measure was approved.

“The space planning was not necessarily the best it could be,” Coby King, media contact for the LACCD, said.

The building projects under the moratorium are in varying stages of planning, building and design, but none of them have begun construction.

There are currently 96 projects, budgeted at $1.7 billion, under the moratorium, according to the final expanded moratorium list released by the district last month.

Each of the nine LACCD campuses is having ongoing discussions and evaluations of their buildings in order to determine the necessity of each project.

These recommendations are then presented to the chancellor, and he takes them into account when making the final decisions on the moratorium.

“The comprehensive effort between the colleges and the district are still in play,” Project Deputy Director Ed Cadena said. “Nothing is finalized yet.”

Factors that determine whether a project has to be continued include legal consequences, safety issues, and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.

“Some projects have to move forward regardless of where they are,” King said. “The hope is that the district and college are going to build as many [projects] as possible. It’s in everybody’s best interest that we move forward.”

There is almost $3 billion yet to be spent on the LACCD Building Program, according to King.

State funding cuts are what ultimately led to the placement of the moratorium.

“As the district started to face cuts in state support, it became clear that they were trying to preserve education delivery,” King said. “The amount of money available for operations was trimmed more aggressively.”

When the Building Program was in the planning stages, the district expected the levels of state support to be the same, according to King.

“It’s hard to overemphasize how unprecedented and draconian the cuts to education have been,” King said.

Fifteen of Pierce College’s building projects are currently under the extended construction moratorium.

Among the construction projects halted temporarily are the renovation of the Performing Arts Building, construction of Horticulture Facilities, and the classroom modernization and technology upgrade of the classrooms south of the Pierce Mall.

The pause in construction has already begun affecting students like 24-year-old choir member Cortney Chan.

While waiting for renovations to the Performing Arts Building to finish, the choir has to hold performances at California State University Northridge.

“The only available date [for us for perform] is Mother’s Day,” she said. “Now we have to give up that day [for the performance]. It’s really annoying.”

The Performing Arts Building, which was supposed to be finished by the summer, is in its final stages of approval by the Division of the State Architect (DSA), according to Theatre Manager Michael Sande.

“It’s in limbo officially,” he said.

Links: http://www.build-laccd.org/

Blue Phone’s lay out of service to students and community members of Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif. Monday, February 27, 2012. Photo: Todd Rosenblatt

Various of the campus-wide blue emergency phone poles, also known as ‘blue lights,’ which are meant to keep the safety of students have been blocked throughout campus.

The inconvenience is a result of the campus-wide construction, units needing to be repaired, Director of Facilities Paul Nieman said.

The blue phones are meant to provide a method for students and staff to contact the Sheriffs for help in case of emergency.

Although not all 26 blue phone units on campus have been blocked, those that have been were blocked for time frames while repair work was taking place, Nieman said.

The units that are currently not functioning are three units in Parking Lot 7, one near the North of Mall Project in Parking Lot 1, which is located in an area that is unavailable to students due to construction, and one in the Swine Unit of the farm.

“We are working to have the wiring re-pulled [in the Swine Unit] so they will be functional,” Nieman said.

The Sheriffs can still receive calls from students in case of an emergency from the active blue phones, or from cell phones.

“Students can [still] approach a Sheriff on campus and request help in what they might need, or locate us through the blue emergency phone poles they see on campus and even their own cell phones,” Deputy Sherriff Bill Dunkin said.

Some students feel safe on campus despite of the blockage of the blue phones.

“I feel secure when I drive into campus, see the Sheriffs’ vehicles and see the cadets in their carts in the parking lots and throughout campus,” Pierce student Kaitlin Allen said.

Four settlements with Irvine-based FTR International were terminated for convenience two weeks following the contractor’s debarment from the district for five years.

FTR headed the 14-year, $6 billion LACCD Building Program, which aimed to renovate academic buildings, sports complexes, and administrative buildings, among other structures, in the nine campuses in the district.

The debarment did not have any legal effects on FTR’s existing projects, but the contractor walked away from construction efforts for Shepard Stadium weeks prior to the termination of the contracts, according to Pierce Athletic Director Bob Lofrano.

“I’m very disappointed that they just walked off,” Lofrano said. “They’d been giving signs. Things were moving very slowly.”

FTR refused to comment on the issue.

“F T R, those are three letters I don’t want to think about anymore,” said Lofrano. “My goal is to remove the FTR sign [at the stadium construction zone]. That’ll be down pretty soon.”

The $8.9 million Shepard Stadium renovation project was originally supposed to be completed by Dec. 28, 2011.

However, late approval of the initial project drawings by the Division of the State Architect moved its completion date to February, said Ed Cadena, project deputy director for Swinerton Management Team.

Swinerton oversees all construction projects at Pierce.

The only stadium parts left undone by FTR are the walkway between the home and visitors’ sides, the restrooms on the visitors’ side, and the field house, said Lofrano.

“We’re 90 percent done,” said Lofrano. “We’re relatively confident that we can play this year.”

The North of Mall project, on the other hand, was shut down and repackaged late last year after the district suspended its contract with FTR in November for change order work, according to Cadena.

The termination of all contracts between FTR and LACCD finalizes this move.

“We recommended the termination [last year], but that doesn’t mean it was going to get done right away,” said Cadena. “The district will execute [the recommendation] when convenient.”

The decision to debar the contractor was brought upon by a recommendation made by a hearing committee comprised of two LACCD trustees based on findings that proved FTR to be an irresponsible contractor.

“This is the last step of the district taking action to debar [FTR],” said LACCD Inspector General Christine Marez over the phone.

The district alleged that FTR submitted fraudulent documents with regards to construction projects in both Los Angeles Mission College and the Los Angeles Valley College, and failed to adhere to building standards outlined in its contract with the latter campus.

“It always costs something to make the decision to terminate a contract,” said Goulet. “But it doesn’t make sense to keep it [if you know there are problems].”

The contractor has, in turn, filed a petition for writ of mandate against the district days after the debarment decision was finalized.

A hearing is scheduled for March 13, according to Goulet.

In the meantime, the district is allowed to hire a different construction company to complete unfinished work.

Links:

http://www.laccd-oig.org/

http://www.ftrintl.com/

http://www.laccd.edu/board_of_trustees/

The building is designed to be a laboratory that will house: environmental technology and science, architecture, advanced manufacturing, engineering design, residential and commercial energy audits and building technologies including solar and wind energy.

The building will be constructed with recycled materials and will have more efficient heating and cooling systems, according to Fernandez. He said more efficient lighting and water system will be installed.

The building will be completed in four years, said Fernandez.

“Cutting edge technology gives you a competitive edge.”  He continued, “There are always risks that should be considered.” He said the risks vary according to sustainability, reliability, maintenance and support.

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica the building of shelter used more than half of the earth’s resources. It sites that 16% of freshwater supplies, more then 30% of the energy supplies and half of all the raw materials of the earth are used in buildings.

Greenpeace activist Billy Dooley was on campus yesterday. He said a green building in the long run pays for itself. He sited the example of solar energy users who are getting paid for the electrical energy they supply to the city.

Solar energy cost 15 cents a kilowatt while coal is one-third the price. He said coal produces 40% of the greenhouse gas emissions, said Dooley.

Pierce physics and astronomy Professor Don Sparks said, “The physics of PV (photo voltaic) is solid in my opinion.”  He has cut his electric bill in half by using solar energy at home.

Dolley noted that 40% of the L. A. County energy supply comes from two coal plants. They are located in Utah and Arizona. He said much of that energy is lost in transmission. He also noted that the green campaign has suffered because of the economic downturn and that the environment is being sacrificed for the sake of jobs.

This weekend the Green festival will be held at the L. A. Convention Center. The environmental event will feature 125 speakers and 250 exhibitors. The event is free for students, youth, Seniors, bicyclist, Metro Pass holders, and Union members. There will be a Green Building pavilion were you can work with experts on home sustainability. Web site: greenfestivals.org

The building is designed to be a laboratory that will house:  environmental technology and science, architecture, advanced manufacturing, engineering design, residential and commercial energy audits and building technologies including solar and wind energy.

The building will be constructed with recycled materials and will have more efficient heating and cooling systems, according to Fernandez.

The building will be completed in four years, said Fernandez.

FTR’s letter indicated that the company could not only lose their current contract, but they could also lose the right of “bidding, contracting, subcontracting or performing any work on any District project” for five years due to “misrepresentation” and “substandard work” at Los Angeles Valley College’s Allied Heath and Science Building.  The also requested payment of an incomplete job, according to the press release.