ECHS gym still not ready for students, practice use
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

The new practice gym at El Campo High School may look finished from the outside, but according to school officials, it's still not complete.

"I hear (construction manager Weaver & Jacobs Constructors) have a certificate of occupancy, but there's still numerous items on the punch list that just haven't been finished yet," El Campo ISD Superintendent Mark Pool said. "Malcolm (Gaus of RWS Architects) was here Wednesday and showed them the kind of things we expected."

El Campo ISD's board decided in September to withhold future payments on the gym, originally scheduled to be completed Aug. 1, due to what it perceived as a lack of communication with the project's construction manager, a situation since resolved.

A punch list of items needed to be taken care of before the district accepted ownership of the building was established and "substantial completion" of the project was scheduled for Oct. 5, when a final walk-through inspection was to have been held.

Pool said he'll have another meeting with Weaver & Jacobs and the district's architects Tuesday afternoon, to see if the items on the punch list have been completed.

The district can use the building once a certificate of occupancy is issued, which means the building is "substantially complete," lacking only cosmetic or small tasks not yet done.

However, Pool said the district has chosen not to accept the building until it's 100- percent complete.

"We're not using it at all," Pool said. "I told them around the second week of September … until you guys get finished with it, we're not moving in."

Pool said besides not wanting students and contractors getting in each other's way, he felt the district could continue using its old practice gym until the new one is finished.

"We've made it this long without being in there, we'll just wait until they finish," he said. "Don't get me wrong, we need it, but I want to make sure we're satisfied before we move in."

As examples of the tasks yet to be completed, Pool cited globs of mortar that dripped onto the cinder block walls, which were left in place, then painted over.

"We told them, 'You need to get the mortar off before painting,'" Pool said, adding the spots must now be scraped and repainted to match. Other examples include damage to the edges of benches in the locker room and missing fire alarm strobe light covers.

However, Pool is optimistic the gym will be in an acceptable condition before long.

"We've told Mr. Weaver that at our next meeting, we need to set a date," he said. "Hopefully by this time next week, it will all be finished."

The practice gym and the new middle school on FM 2765 are both being built as a result of a $19.9 million bond package approved in 2005.