Tidehaven ISD
District Program and Facilities Advisory
Planning Committee Meeting

March 18, 2008 

Summary of Meeting 

Mr. Jones began the open forum at 6:45 p.m.  There were 21 members and 1 guest present.  Following the welcome and a very brief review of the previous meetings, Mr. Jones introduced Cameron Hollomon, Region IV Facility Service Team member. 

Mr. Hollomon began his presentation by letting the committee know that the final report from his team will be ready to present to the Tidehaven Board of Trustees on April 14.  Included in this report will be 500-600 photos.  Mr. Hollomon discussed what he considered to be key topics of the report.  The area he considered the key to success of future facilities maintenance is the implementation of a work order management system.  Mr. Hollomon discussed with the committee how these software/web-based programs can benefit the district.  These computer systems are designed to provide routine, preventative maintenance schedules for the district.  A program of this type would create reports that indicate when maintenance is due in certain areas and by adhering to these schedules you create a maintenance history.  Mr. Hollomon expressed how he felt that a system of this type would have a positive financial impact over time for the district. 

Mr. Hollomon reviewed several plans for the committee to consider, including a ten year asphalt replacement/maintenance plan, a ten year HVAC plan, and a 15-20 year roofing plan for the district.  Mr. Hollomon reminded the committee that the use of window units, while an easy fix, can not be tied into a management system.  He also stressed that roofing issues create other issues very quickly, such as leakage, rot and mold.  The district has several roofs that currently have multiple layers on them, something the team feels needs to be removed.  Several of the district’s buildings currently have moisture damage, environmental safety issues, and structural issues.  Mr. Hollomon’s team has also determined that the district has foundation issues on several buildings and serious plumbing issues as well.  The plumbing issues need extensive work to try to resolve the problems.  

Among other issues addressed by the Service Team were life safety, regulatory compliance and our electrical systems.  The life safety issues include the fact that the current alarm and security systems are outdated and have not been inspected in several years.  With the numerous buildings/classrooms located away from and not connected to the main buildings/offices in the district, there is an increasing risk that during a time of a safety issue or emergency there would not be contact between buildings in an adequate amount of time. The regulatory compliance involves three main areas, asbestos, integrated pest management (IPM) and indoor air quality (IAQ).    The third issue, electrical systems, was summed up by Mr. Hollomon as being “maxed out”.  The systems on all the campuses do not have the capacity to be increased to carry a larger load without extensive renovation. 

Mr. Hollomon closed his presentation by stating that he would return in April to make his team’s presentation to the board.  Mr. Jones then asked the committee to spend some time openly discussing any thoughts or ideas that anyone had.  Among the ideas/topics discussed were: 

1. The possible outcome of the next Legislative Session.  This, of course, is an unknown future.
2. The possible development of a 5, 10, 15 or 20 year plan for the district.  A member expressed his concern that a schedule be developed that would not jeopardize the financial condition of the district.  With the current economic condition of the state and our county, he felt replacement of the campuses, if considered by the community, should take place over time.
3. With there being limitless options available to the committee, Mr. Jones stressed to the committee the need to openly discuss how or what each member felt concerning our facilities and programs so that the process of consensus might lead to a possible presentation to the Board of Trustees in the coming months.
4. On the issue of bond elections, the length of time in which a bond would need to be paid back was discussed, with the answer generally being that the district would choose a timeline.  The question of how often the district might want to consider another bond election was brought forward. The consensus of the group was that it could happen as often as necessary but probably would not arise again for many years, especially with the implementation of a multiple year plan if a bond election were held in the near future.  Since Tidehaven has never had a bond election, it was discussed that definite guidelines/plans would be needed to help facilitate the idea in the community.
5. Some ideas for construction included a new building at each campus, trying to pass one bond to cover all four construction projects.
6. Land availability was discussed.  Mr. Jones explained that the Markham and Blessing campuses each have land available, while the Intermediate and High School campuses do not, which would cause the district to have to consider the purchase of additional land.  A committee member asked if the district had any plans on acquiring additional land.  Mr. Jones said that the district has no option to present at this time, that the committee would need to go to the appraisal district, research surrounding land, make contact with land owners and see what possibilities arise.  When asked how much land it would take to construct a new high school, Mr. Jones explained that the Texas Education Agency has recommendations for districts that take into consideration the needs and population of the district.
7. The educational benefits of having a Pre-K thru 12^th grade campus, as seen by one teacher, were brought forward.  She discussed how this could have a very positive affect on curriculum alignment and team teaching.  She also suggested sending a survey out to find out how the community feels about this idea, rather than rely on hearsay.  Mr. Jones discussed the need to have control of the type of survey used and how it would be disseminated, in order to have accurate results.
8. The fact that a bond election could cause an increase in taxes resulted in the committee discussing the fact that a significant bond election would not increase our tax rate to the current rate of several surrounding districts because our tax rate is currently one of the lowest in our area.
9. Concern for the loss of community integrity arose with the discussion of merging the elementary campuses.
10. The maintenance department discussed that they felt, from a construction standpoint, there is no reason to continue renovation of some of our buildings; the cost does not justify the life of the buildings.  The main (original) structures at Markham, Blessing and the Intermediate, in the opinion of the district maintenance department, are reaching the point that repairs will not fix the underlying problems.
11. The possibility of renovating the Blessing main building (original part), for historical reasons, was brought forward.  It was felt that it could be renovated in some manner but not for use as classrooms. 
12. It was discussed that most of the district structures were built, more than fifty years ago, to accommodate much smaller populations and classroom sizes.  Along those lines, it was also brought up that the electrical needs of today have greatly exceeded what the electrical systems of the buildings are capable of handling.
13. A large portion of the committee felt that the Intermediate school should be abandoned completely, with either the consideration of building a new campus or merging with the high school to create a new 6-12 campus.
14. Some committee members felt that it would be in the best interest of the district to merge the elementary campuses onto the current high school campus, after the construction of a new high school.  Other members felt that perhaps we should consider building some type of new structure at each elementary location, construct a complete new high school and then move the Intermediate to the current high school location.  The high school location, according to the district maintenance department and the Region IV Facilities Team, has the best structural integrity to consider renovating.
15. The topic of electrical rewiring at the high school campus was discussed, with the maintenance department stating that they felt this was a possibility but would involve extensive renovation.
16. A committee member stressed their concern that construction in several locations, if that were considered, would be considerably more expensive than the construction of one large campus.  The consensus of the committee is that one location would be more economical than several.
17. The ratio of tax collection was discussed, with Mr. Jones informing the committee that approximately 80% of the property tax collected by the district comes from business and 20% from the private sector (homeowners).  The possibility of additional businesses locating in the district lead to the discussion that this could possibly raise the ratio/percent derived from business and lower the percent received from homeowner.
18. Mr. Jones explained to the committee that you can ask the public to consider approving a large bond that the district would then use/spend over a period of years.  It would be necessary to evaluate and establish a plan of when and what to construct and how much to spend doing so.  One member expressed that in doing so you must take into consideration the cost of increase in prices over a period of years, that what you might budget today could cost double or triple in amount by the time you actually implement construction.  Another member, speaking from past experience with the district, said that exact situation happened on one project/structure he was involved with while on the board. The years of waiting resulted in the project costing three times as much as originally budgeted.
19. The meeting concluded with the committee members asking Mr. Jones to consult with an architect to get estimates on the cost of constructing 4 new, individual campuses (Blessing, Markham, Intermediate and High School), the cost of constructing one elementary (to merge Blessing and Markham), the cost of constructing a combined 6-12 campus (merge Intermediate and High School), the cost of constructing a new high school (9-12) and finally the committee asked Mr. Jones to have the architect estimate the cost of a Pre-K thru 12 campus.  The committee members felt this would be the best way to view any and all possibilities concerning construction.  Mr. Jones stressed that there will always be pros and cons to any idea presented.

The open forum concluded with the committee members voting to meet again on April 15, 2008 in the Learning Resource Center at the high school at 6:45 p.m.