Commissioners angered by lingering Tech Center problems

Officials from Eastern Kentucky University have cited at least 45 potential problems with the new Corbin Technology Center following a mid-February inspection of the facility.
Donna Helton, Coordinator for Community and Workforce Education at the Corbin campus, said a group of 15 EKU staffers visited the site on Feb. 18 and found problems including:
• Sinks that either didn’t work or leaked;
• Cracked tiles;
• Lights that would not come on;
• Non-working toilets;
• Unrepaired water damage to walls and ceiling tiles.
“I wouldn’t say there were a lot of problems, but there were some,” Helton said. “I think they were pretty minor.”
At a work session meeting of the Corbin City Commission Monday night, commissioners expressed frustration and anger about the problems and the fact that the city will apparently have to pay at least $900 to correct them.”I do not feel good about the fact that we have to paint something that was the result of a leak in a building’s that’s never been occupied,” Commissioner Alan Onkst said. “I think that’s ridiculous. We should have a building out there that would have withstood a tsunami.”
Corbin Mayor Amos Miller said he’s frustrated too, but added that the contract on the center has already been paid, complicating any attempts to have it fixed at no expense to the city.
“I don’t like it either, but we’ve still got to do it,” Miller said. “We’ve got to get in it and get going.”
At previous meetings City Manager Bill Ed Cannon told commissioners that the repairs were simple “punch-list” items that would be repaired in short order.
EKU and city leaders reached a three-year agreement on use of the center officially Feb. 14. The 21,400 square square foot building that cost an estimated $2.15 million to build has set mainly idle since completion of principal construction early last summer. Negotiations between the two sides was often rocky and, at times, seemed in jeopardy of stalling indefinitely.
When it was reached, both sides hailed an agreement that would allow the center to be used to “enhance the technology skills of area teachers, students and the community through experiences utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and instructional techniques.”
Corbin received a $921,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to equip the building with computers, furnishings and a high-end computer network. On Monday, Helton gave commissioners a list of items that the school needs to purchase for the center before occupying it. The list includes items like chairs, desks, a security system, external sign and instructional aids like whiteboards and easels. The city is responsible for dispensing money left over from the grant to purchase the supplies.
Miller urged Helton to buy from local vendors whenever possible and added that anything that would cost over $20,000 needed to go through a bid process.
Commissioners also discussed a fast-access fiber-optic connection between the center and EKU’s Corbin Campus. City Attorney Bob Hammons said that before any construction can proceed, a map of the intended route of the network had to be submitted so that easement and encroachment rights could be determined.
In other business:
• Miller asked that the city’s budgeting process be handled differently than from previous years. He suggested that a committee made up of two commissioners and the City Manager be assigned to work with department heads on the budget before it is presented to the commission. Onkst suggested Commissioners Phil Gregory and Bruce Farris be on the committee, but no action can be taken at a work session.
• Tommy G. Mayne, Chairman of the Kentucky State Legislative Board for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, asked the Commission to support a resolution urging Congress and the State of Kentucky to mandate the Federal Railroad Administration to make rules regarding the use of unmanned remote control locomotives in the general railroad system.