(May 5) The structural supports for the roof at the Apple Valley Library have begun to fail.
Staff at the Apple Valley Library, which is located at 14901 Dale Evans Parkway in Apple Valley, in mid-November 2014 observed cracks in the truss system supporting the roof and reported it to the county’s architecture and engineering department. The architecture and engineering department in conjunction with Dahl, Taylor and Associates, which serves as one of the county’s structural engineers, conducted an initial site investigation the following week. At that time, the actual damage was documented in six of the supporting trusses.
The structural engineer began developing the analysis immediately thereafter, conducting several additional site visits. A final report on the matter was completed in late February 2015. Following a meeting to discuss the report with the county’s risk management division, members of the architecture and engineering department and the structural engineer, a proposed repair procedure for the repair of the six damaged trusses was developed.
While architecture and engineering department personnel and the structural engineer were conducting an examination of the library on April 17, 2015, cracking was discovered in two additional trusses. Also, further damage was observed on the initial six trusses, and shifting of the fire-control sprinkler lines was also observed. Based upon the recommendation of the structural engineer, the library was closed on April 18, and the sprinkler system drained on April 20, 2015.
The board of supervisors this week declared the situation is an emergency pursuant to Public Contract Code section 22050, requiring immediate action that will not permit a delay resulting from a formal solicitation of bids. The board then approved, upon the recommendation of Kenneth Hernandez, the director of the county’s risk management division, and Carl Alban, the director of the county’s architecture and engineering department, a resolution authorizing the county’s chief executive officer, Greg Devereaux, to direct the county purchasing agent to issue the necessary purchase orders in an amount not to exceed $835,000 for the repair of the truss system and related structural repairs at the Apple Valley Library.
According to Alban, “The cost of the repairs has not been determined at this time. Funding for the repairs will come from the 2014-15 minor capital improvement program budget, with potential reimbursement from the county’s insurance carriers.