Talk about stupid - from McClatchy news:
Surfside official was sent disturbing report. He told board condo was ‘in good shape’
A month after an engineer’s report flagged “major structural damage” at Champlain Towers South, the chief building official for the town of Surfside told residents the condominium was “in very good shape,” according to minutes from a November 2018 board meeting obtained by the Miami Herald.
Ross Prieto, who left the post last year, had reviewed the engineer’s report, the minutes say. Records show condo board member Mara Chouela forwarded a copy to him two days earlier.
An email posted on the town’s website shows that Chouela sent Prieto two reports: the “structural field survey report” by engineer Frank Morabito of Morabito Consultants detailing the building’s structural deficiencies, and a mechanical and electrical engineering report by Thomas E. Henz. P.E. And it was Chouela who introduced Prieto at the meeting with five of the seven board members, along with property manager Alexandria Santamaria, condo board lawyer Marilyn Perez and interested residents who had gathered in the building’s recreation room.
And of course:
But this past Saturday, Prieto told the Herald he didn’t remember getting the report.
And of course, they have emails Prieto sent after the meeting saying that everything went well. Looks like the bottom line was simply money:
An estimate from Morabito at the time called for about $9 million in structural work. When he told residents, “of course everybody freaked,” Alvarez said. The average assessment for owners in the 136-unit building was about $100,000 apiece, she said.
Well, they saved their money and lost their lives. Hope that this is a wakeup call for other structures.
Curious as I am currently reading Henry Petroski's 2016 book: The Road Taken: The History and Future of America's Infrastructure. Money set aside for infrastructure upgrades and repairs always seems to be shunted over to various pet projects and then, when something happens, it is some dire emergency that "came outta nowhere".
The Hernando DeSoto Bridge for example.
Closer to home? The West Seattle Bridge.
We need to change our priorities.
Leave a comment