Trustee board approves HHS roof repair plans

Trustee board approves HHS roof repair plans

Zach White

The Havre Public School District's Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss plans for Havre High School's roof, after last week's collapse.

After a half-hour presentation, Superintendent Andy Carlson recommended that the board hire engineers from the Great Falls office of Thomas, Dean & Hoskins to design the roof, repair and update it.

He also recommended the board approve approaching Havre's Clausen and Sons to carry out the construction.

The board approved the recommendations.

Rodney Blake, who with fellow Thomas, Dean & Hoskins engineer Garrett Drake will design the plans, said that Drake was "working on calculations as we speak."

Blake estimated that plans could be completed as soon as the end of this week.

According to Carlson and Blake, the plan will have two parts.

The priority is to fix the hole and other parts of the roof that were damaged in the collapse.

Other sections of the slanted roof, added in 1997, showed signs of stress.

The section above the wood and metal shops is around the corner from the hole, but has been deemed of enough worry to keep students from those rooms.

Another section, above a few rooms on the east side of the high school's auditorium, was showing the pressure of the snow drifts. The administration blocked this part off temporarily, until the drift was removed and the roof declared safe.

The second part of the plan is to update the supports across the newer roof to more modern standards, to prevent something like this from happening again.

"There are some connections that could be problematic, " Blake said. "It will need some fixes to get those habitable again. "

Bud Baldwin, owner of the school's insurance company, Baldwin Insurance, told board members they had nothing to worry about from his end.

"The coverage is there to do the repairs and whatever else to shore up that part of the building," Baldwin said. "I really don't think you have anything to worry about. "

While the plans are drawn and the construction company approached, Carlson explained there is still a lot to do, including keeping the snow off of that roof.

"It's something that will have to be done through this entire process, " Carlson said.

The superintendent also described some of a worst case scenario plan, if the school has to close again.

"If we had to cancel school, our best bet would be at the mall, with some overflow at Devlin, " Carlson said.

Most of the students would be sent to the old Bi-Mart part of the Holiday Village Mall, next to Sears, while others could be accommodated in the old Devlin School, now the Boy's & Girls Club of the Hi-Line building.

He again stressed that people with concerns about cancellations call the Robins Administrative Building at 265-4356, and not the high school.

Aside from taking action, the meeting also served as an opportunity for the trustees to get an update on how the school was doing on its first day back in operation, which Principal Jerry Vandersloot described as "business as usual. "

The Havre Public School District's Board of Trustees held an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss plans for Havre High School's roof, after last week's collapse.

After a half-hour presentation, Superintendent Andy Carlson recommended that the board hire engineers from the Great Falls office of Thomas, Dean & Hoskins to design the roof, repair and update it.

He also recommended the board approve approaching Havre's Clausen and Sons to carry out the construction.

The board approved the recommendations.

Rodney Blake, who with fellow Thomas, Dean & Hoskins engineer Garrett Drake will design the plans, said that Drake was "working on calculations as we speak."

Blake estimated that plans could be completed as soon as the end of this week.

According to Carlson and Blake, the plan will have two parts.

The priority is to fix the hole and other parts of the roof that were damaged in the collapse.

ther sections of the slanted roof, added in 1997, showed signs of stress.

The section above the wood and metal shops is around the corner from the hole, but has been deemed of enough worry to keep students from those rooms.

Another section, above a few rooms on the east side of the high school's auditorium, was showing the pressure of the snow drifts. The administration blocked this part off temporarily, until the drift was removed and the roof declared safe.

The second part of the plan is to update the supports across the newer roof to more modern standards, to prevent something like this from happening again.

"There are some connections that could be problematic, " Blake said. "It will need some fixes to get those habitable again. "

Bud Baldwin, owner of the school's insurance company, Baldwin Insurance, told board members they had nothing to worry about from his end.

"The coverage is there to do the repairs and whatever else to shore up that part of the building," Baldwin said. "I really don't think you have anything to worry about. "

While the plans are drawn and the construction company approached, Carlson explained there is still a lot to do, including keeping the snow off of that roof.

"It's something that will have to be done through this entire process, " Carlson said.

The superintendent also described some of a worst case scenario plan, if the school has to close again.

"If we had to cancel school, our best bet would be at the mall, with some overflow at Devlin, " Carlson said.

Most of the students would be sent to the old Bi-Mart part of the Holiday Village Mall, next to Sears, while others could be accommodated in the old Devlin School, now the Boy's & Girls Club of the Hi-Line building.

He again stressed that people with concerns about cancellations call the Robins Administrative Building at 265-4356, and not the high school.

Aside from taking action, the meeting also served as an opportunity for the trustees to get an update on how the school was doing on its first day back in operation, which Principal Jerry Vandersloot described as "business as usual. "