The following article, written by Heather Plonchak, is reprinted from The Saugerties Times, 11-15-07 KEEP US IN THE LOOP   By: Heather Plonchak, Saugerties Times , November 15, 2007 After track modified without its consent, BOE demands more of a say   Heated discussions regarding the construction of Saugerties High School’s new track continued at the November 13 meeting of the board of education, with board members sparring over 11th hour changes to the plans and threatening to call the police on one another. Although the board had hoped that architect Mike Bellows would have attended the meeting to address board members’ concerns, he was unavailable. Instead, the board was addressed by construction manager Craig Zandonella. Some weeks ago, while laying out the lanes for the track covering, it was discovered that a mistake had been made in the original design, leaving the track’s asphalt layer approximately three inches too thin. To correct the mistake, a 24-inch overlapping patch was attached to the track with a cold seal. It was pointed out by board vice president George Heidcamp that although the original plans called for a seamless base, the school board was not officially notified of the problem until the day the patch was completed, a cause for concern according to him. He added that the board would have liked to have had the chance to confer about the decision to fix it, and discuss any alternatives, including the possibility of simply replacing the entire asphalt base. Trustee Richard Petramale brought forward a concern regarding the integrity of the patch and the seam. Petramale asked about guarantees and warrantees on the patch and the asphalt layer of the track. “Who is responsible if the asphalt fails in two years, who do we go to to fix the problem, or does it just cost the school district that much more money to do it over?” According to Zandonella, the answers to these questions would have to be provided by the architect and the engineer handling the project. He continued, explaining that the only guarantees he was aware of lay in the professional licenses of the engineers who laid the asphalt base, and the base is not warranteed for a specific time frame to his knowledge. Petramale said he was worried that the five-year warrantee on the track’s surface coating, which was scheduled to be laid on Wednesday, would be voided if the integrity of the patch was deemed to be substandard. Superintendent Richard Rhau assured the board that patching the track was an acceptable method of fixing the size problem, and that the patch was verified by two engineers as well as the construction manager. “We could have [laid the surface coating] without the patch, and just made each lane one inch smaller, but that wasn’t the kind of job we were looking for.” Rhau commended those involved for discovering the problem and correcting it before the track was surfaced. He noted that problems are a normal part of any project of this scale and that the important part is to “find the problems and fix them.” Despite warnings from Zandonella and Rhau that delaying the project would likely result in additional charges from the surfacing company, the school board, frustrated by the lack of answers to any of their questions, voted to put the track portion of the project on hold, pending a meeting with the architect. The board reasoned that they wanted to sure they were not in for larger costs later if the project was not completed properly. A meeting with Bellow is scheduled for the end of this week. A motion was also introduced by Heidcamp to change the manner in which the board is notified of serious issues and occurrences within the school buildings by the administration. Heidcamp’s motion would direct the superintendent to inform the board of education of any serious incidents before any action is taken by the administration to resolve the issues. The motion was amended by Heidcamp to make allowances for swift administrative action in emergencies that would require immediate action. During discussion of the motion, arguments broke out between members of the board including Terry Parisian and Heidcamp. “I’m sick of you shooting your mouth off Heidcamp,” said Parisian during the conflict. Board president Donald Tucker, after issuing several warnings to trustees, threatened to remove Parisian from the meeting. Ultimately, Heidcamp’s motion was carried unanimously, with Rhau’s blessing, but minutes later, when arguing again broke out, Parisian was asked to leave, as was former BOE president Vince Buono, who Tucker felt was causing a disturbance from the audience. “This is a public assembly, Mr. Parisian,” said Tucker. “You will conform to the rules, or leave, by police action if necessary.” The police, however, were not called on to intervene, and the problems among the board were quickly resolved. All nine members entered into executive session with the district’s attorneys, ending the public portion of the meeting. Heather Plonchak