Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Policy Committee
The Policy Committee Meeting scheduled for March 25 at 6:30 pm is cancelled.
Board Meeting
The monthly school board meeting will be held in the LGI room located in the Middle Senior High School at 7:30 p.m. in the LGI Room of the Morrisville Middle Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer Street, Morrisville, PA.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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2 comments:
I'm a little shocked there aren't any comments about last night's meeting.
I was not there but heard that Marlys gave an award to Ron Stoudt for saving the district a huge sum of money, something like $700k, I believe, by recommending against replacing some (apparently very expensive) pipe. Anyone know for sure what it was? Was it even pipe? Waste line? Fresh water? Gas?
Now, if it is true that the pipe did not need to be replaced then [1] we should all give Mr. Stoudt our sincere thanks, and [2] fire whichever engineer recommended replacing the pipes needlessly.
I would like to try to understand how Mr. Stoudt came to his conclusion, however. Was it a cursory glance at the outside of the pipe and maybe an occassional tap with the handle of a screwdriver? Or were sections of the pipe dismantled and inspected on the inside and out, as well as tests to conduct flow, back-pressure, corrosion, etc? If it is the latter then it sounds like a job well done. If, however, it was the former, then it smells like a campaign stunt.
I wonder if, over the last 50 years, anyone was given an award for recommending against replacing M.R. Reiter's furnace?
We're talkin' Marlys Mihok and Ron Stout here. Do you smell what The Crock is cookin'?
Below is a little history.....
The 10/22/08 mtg. is where the board voted to spend $108k to test/replace the "black pipe" that "Award Winner" Ron Stout allegedly told them later not to do. [See motion (5.2.b)]. Curiously, the version of the 10/22/08 Reg. Board mtg. mins. on the MSD website is "hollow" (i.e. there's no beef/voting info in it).
Also, there are no mins. at all for the 10/29/08 Special Board mtg. on the MSD website. The main purpose of this mtg. was primarily to make Paul DeAngelo the new Bus. Mgr.
Question/aside: As Board Secretary, Marlys Mihok is in charge of meeting minutes, right?
Anyway, below is an excerpt from the 11/19/08 mins., where Marlys Mihok makes NO mention of Ron Stout. She acts like she did the research herself and she saved the money. If you don't believe me, watch the tape.
2.1. Approval of Minutes
The Board approved a motion to approve the minutes of the October 22, 2008 monthly business meeting of the Board of School Directors.
Moved by Mr. Hellmann; seconded by Mr. Radosti; passed by a voice vote of 7 ayes; 2 abstentions. Members abstaining were Mrs. Heater and Mrs. Worob.
Referring to page f of the minutes, second paragraph from the bottom, Mrs. Mihok stated that since she made that statement she has done a lot more research on black lines. Now she knows that this line does not have to be replaced even though it is 50 years old because this line never got any oxygen in it. It’s impossible for water to rust in these pipes without oxygen. I understand that this is something that will be checked and not automatically replaced. This may be a cost savings to the district.
Stay with me here, folks.....
At the 10/29/08 Special mtg., Board Pres. Hellmann had future $4,800/month "owner's rep." Mr. Rago speak a bit, and he made some statements about black pipe not always needing to be replaced and he's got black pipe in his house that's 110 yrs. old, etc. Amazingly, Hellmann allowed public comment this time, and I went up and said something like:
"the board just voted last week (10/22) to spend $$$ on replacing the pipe (I think I said > $50k, but that was an understatement because it was actually $54k to test, and $54k more for "work related to replacement...). So based on Rago's statements, the board may want to rethink this vote".
Of course, as usual my words were greeted by stony stares from the usual board members.
Below is the relevant excerpt from my 10/31/08 blog posting on this topic.
Jon said...
1. A Mr. Rago was the first speaker. He was on the printed agenda but not in the advertizing for this special meeting. He's an architect/engineer, and he provided some info on the role of an "owners representative" overseeing/assisting with construction projects. He's serving in this role on the new K-8 school currently under construction in Bristol Boro. He was asked by Bill Hellmann to provide a proposal to work in a similar capacity on Morrisville's renovation effort, which is already in motion and, in my opinion, being handled poorly and haphazardly. I'll give you an example:
One of the things Mr. Rago mentioned as something an owners rep might assist with was "not rushing to judgment" about whether to repair or replace something. He gave the example of replacing water piping without say, flush testing it first to see if it was still OK. He said he has black pipe in his 110-year old house that's still good.
This is ironic because at the regular board meeting just 1 week before (Oct. 22), the board voted to spend $54,000 for piping replacement at the Middle-High School, with another $54,000 in "work associated with piping replacement". Someone at the meeting, possibly Mr. Hellmann, said it was 50-year old pipe, and that it was going to be replaced without even testing it, just assuming that it was shot. I believe it was Mr. Lastichen who said it was mostly black pipe, with copper near fixtures.
Now if you thought the new school was a waste of money, why would you spend $108,000 on replacing piping that may not even be bad, without even testing it?
A reputable, responsible architect/engineer, even an owner's rep. if desired, should have been brought in up front, before the board started haphazardly spending money on cheap inadequate studies, and forging ahead with piecemeal repairs/renovations without an overall plan prepared by somebody who really knows what they're talking about, not someone who thinks they do because they installed their home hot water heater or wired-up a ceiling fan in their bedroom.
October 31, 2008 5:35 PM
Oh, and here's one of my 12/1/08 blog posts after watching the 11/19/08 mtg. on TV.
Jon said...
Oh, and then Marlys Mihok, like Fonzie, admitted she was Wrrrrrrr.....Wrrrrrrrr
Wrrrrrrr......WRONG about the 50-year old black pipe at the Middle-High School. Apparently, she researched it more after she voted to spend mucho dinero to replace it without testing it first. She found out it doesn't necessarily need replacing at 50-years, if it hasn't been exposed to oxygen. Of all things, she should know that! Now if she and other like-minded board members could just do their "research" before they vote. Baby steps, baby steps. Oh, and don't even think about claiming this as a cost savings, as you started to do at the meeting. This was a near-miss money wastage, not a savings! As The Fonz sez: Ayyyyyyyyyyy! Now if only the Fonz could do some of his patented free "percussive maintenance" on the schools.
December 1, 2008 9:51 PM
My point(s) are:
1. I DON'T BELIEVE FOR ONE SECOND THAT RON STOUT HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS;
2. MARLYS TRIED TO TAKE THE CREDIT HERSELF AT THE NOV. 19, 2008 BOARD MEETING; ONLY ON MARCH 25, 2009, AFTER RON STOUT BECAME A SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE AND 1.5 MONTHS BEFORE THE MAY 19 PRIMARY ELECTION, DID RON STOUT MAGICALLY BECOME MR. MONEY-SAVIN' MAN.
3. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SHAMELESS FARCE TO PROP-UP/ENDORSE SOMEONE WHO I BELIEVE IS A TERRIBLE CANDIDATE FOR SCHOOL BOARD. FOR MARLYS MIHOK TO USE HER PUBLIC OFFICE IN THIS MANNER IS A TOTAL DISGRACE.
4. THIS WAS NOT A COST SAVINGS AT ALL - IT WAS A NEAR-MISS MONEY WASTEAGE;
5. IF THE BOARD HAD A DECENT PLAN UP-FRONT INSTEAD OF BARRELLING AHEAD RECKLESSLY, IT VERY LIKELY WOULD HAVE AVOIDED THIS WHOLE SITUATION.
ANY QUESTIONS?
Can't wait to see how Marlys "twists my words to the point of perversion".
Remember, there are no coincidences.
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