The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“I don’t have any reason to believe the plans were not done properly”
Gunnison Valley Health chief executive officer Randy Phelps is confident the hospital’s 18,000 square feet of new and remodeled space is safe, and the construction sound, after the design/build firm that finished the project in August was linked to sub-standard construction at an elementary school in Meeker.
Phelps said an executive from the Ft. Collins-based “Archistruction” firm Neenan Co. would be stopping at the Gunnison Valley Hospital on Thursday, December 1. He assumed the Neenan rep “wants to come and see the project and thank us for using their services.” According to a recent Denver Post article, the visit will be part of a tour Neenan CEO Randy Myers will be taking of the 16 communities where the firm designed school buildings and medical facilities.
Myers’ stop in Gunnison will come ahead of an appearance at a Monte Vista School Board meeting. That school board raised questions about an ongoing school project during an independent review of the plans in September.
Neenan admitted mistakes were made at the $18.9 million school in Meeker that was closed last summer, and remains closed. But Phelps says he has no reason to believe similar mistakes were made at GVH, saying all of the proper authorities inspected the work throughout its evolution, from the city of Gunnison to the state Department of Health
Phelps said he hadn’t reviewed the plans for the project personally since hearing about the fallout in Meeker, adding, “I don’t have any reason to believe the plans were not done properly for us.” Phelps also employed a project manager to oversee the construction and report directly to the GVH administration for the duration of the project to add another layer of review, he said.
Still, Phelps said Neenan had agreed to pay for an independent review of the project plans by a structural engineer, who has to meet Phelps’ approval. He also said the building’s construction is under warranty with Neenan for a year from the project’s mid-August completion date and they have a team inspecting the structure monthly.
“Nothing with the structure would cause me any concern,” Phelps says. “None of the departments who work in the building have reported anything of concern and they are encouraged to report anything. But nothing has come up.”
