High-tech CCSN project gets low marks

Sunday, May 6, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

When it opened in fall 2004, the $20 million telecommunications building at the Community College of Southern Nevada Cheyenne campus was promoted as a state of the art facility that would prepare graduates for high-tech fields.

But faculty and staff assigned to the facility say that because of flaws, poor communications and efforts to build the facility under budget, it has fallen short of its mission.

Among their complaints, aired to the Sun during tours of the facility:

Other questionable design decisions, professors said, were the use of carpet instead of tile in electronics-repair labs where sparks literally can fly, classroom light fixtures that block ceiling-mounted projectors, and skylights in classrooms in lieu of ceiling lighting, making the room too dark for lab activities during night classes.

Despite the facility's shortcomings, it is receiving kudos for its digital editing labs for photography, videography and graphic arts students, Media Technologies department Chairman Tom Myers said. Not only have those programs grown, from about 700 students to more than 2,500 students, but colleges elsewhere have sent staff to Las Vegas to copy what CCSN has done.

The facility "has been a boon to our program, and has allowed us to increase our services to our students," Myers said. "That's the positive side. On the reverse side ... it was amazing for me how much was originally planned for and then disappeared in the building under the guise of value-engineering."

Faculty and staff said they would have identified the design shortcomings - if their input had been sought.

They say Bob Gilbert, the associate vice president of facilities, operations and maintenance and the man who oversaw construction and design of the building, told them that many of the items they requested - such as the first-floor studio, sufficient power and data connections, and the rooftop lab - were eliminated to save money.

Professors believe the savings were applied instead on design features to earn a certificate for energy efficiency, at the request of state lawmakers.

Gilbert declined to comment and referred the Sun to his attorney, who did not return calls.

Faculty and staff reported the problems to the Sun after CCSN President Richard Carpenter said in a March 26 article that buildings constructed under Gilbert's supervision opened on time and under budget.

The telecommunications building opened 39 days late, and was built within budget only because planned features were eliminated, eight professors and other staff members told the Sun.

Most of them spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals, including cuts to their programs' budgets.

As a result of the building's deficiencies, students are shying away from the engineering technology and telecommunications coursework, professors say. One course in computer engineering was canceled because the lab wasn't wired properly and telecommunications classes designed around the rooftop lab were dropped.

Figures provided by CCSN indicate that enrollment in electronics, engineering technology and computer technology courses have dropped by one-third since the building opened.

Carpenter said even though the building opened later than scheduled, classes were not delayed. He said any problems with the building would be addressed.

He said it was his understanding that some of the rooms, such as the film production studio, were unfinished because of budget constraints, and that the college has not been able to justify spending money to finish that room or fix the wiring issues on the second floor because of the dwindling enrollment.

Blaming the shrinking enrollment on building deficiencies was "a fair excuse," Carpenter said. He said enrollment was dropping because the programs housed in the facility were not meeting market needs.

Patty Charlton, vice president of finance, said the facility was CCSN's first "design-build project," in which the architect works closely with the builder to reduce the construction time. As a result, Charlton said, not all of the professors' needs could be included. Many of their requests were made after the design was mostly finished, she said.

As for the difficulty accessing power and data outlets, contractor Frank Martin, of Martin and Harris, said his company installed cable trays in the attic space between the floors for that purpose, and that it should have been a "piece of cake" for CCSN to install connections where needed.

CCSN spokeswoman Helen Clougherty said faculty created the second-floor safety hazards by laying power and computer cables across classroom floors. She said the administration would work with them to modify the building to their needs, depending on the cost and money available.

Clougherty said faculty were told to submit requests for satellite hook-ups, but have not.

Roof antennas were not installed because the program failed to attract students, Clougherty said. Faculty said the program failed to attract students because the antennas were not installed.

Nevada Public Works Manager Gus Nunez said he was unaware of ongoing problems in the building, and said most of them fell within the scope of CCSN's supervision. Design changes to accommodate budget limitations were made by Gilbert, who served as the CCSN contact person for the project, Nunez said.

Gilbert and college officials took responsibility for either performing or contracting out the work for the building's data and telecommunications wiring, paving, floor coverings, furniture and equipment, Nunez said.

The Public Works office has not received the required paperwork from Gilbert's office to document $1.3 million in work by the college or its contractors and how the college's $1 million contribution for equipment was applied.

The paperwork was due in 2005, and if the state does not receive it by July, CCSN will not be reimbursed , Nunez said.

Martin said he believed many of the ongoing issues are exacerbated because professors do not know the capabilities of the building or why it was built as it was.

Faculty say Gilbert and other administrators have not informed them about what - if anything - was being done to fix the problems with the building.

One professor said complaints to the dean and other administrators have been ignored for three years. "They just don't seem to care," he said.

Peg Pankowski, outgoing interim dean of the Advanced and Applied Technologies Division - the building's tenant - told the Sun in an e-mail that "working in this building is an honor" but refused to respond to specific faculty concerns.

The building was named for Assemblyman Morse Arberry Jr., D-Las Vegas, who said he will tour the facility now that he's heard of faculty complaints.

"I want them to have the best things they can have," Arberry said. "I don't want a building with my name on it to be an embarrassment."

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