This college’s gym will get new roof; campus may add a third parking garage.
By Richard Montemayor
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Students and faculty returning to campus this semester may notice restricted parking on Lot 20 between the tennis courts and Candler Physical Education Center because of ongoing work to replace the roof on Candler.
John Strybos, associate vice chancellor of facilities operation and construction management for Alamo Colleges, said the college board approved the project during a regional board meeting last August.
He said the board approved a $1.7 million contract to Waterproofing Technologies Inc. to replace the roof.
Linda Casas, facility manager for Candler, said the roof was in bad need of replacing.
“Every time that we get a storm we will have leaks all over the building,” she said.
She and her staff must put out buckets every time it rains.
Work began in late November with a completion date set for this summer, Strybos said.
This college has also started preliminary work on a new parking garage, Strybos said.
“For the past 30 years, what has been the No. 1 problem at this college?” he said. “If you would’ve guessed parking, you would be correct.”
Currently this college has two parking garages, one in front of Chance Academic Center on the North Main Avenue side of campus and the other next to Tobin Lofts Apartments on the northwest corner of campus on North Main Avenue.
In late November of last year, preliminary work for a possible third parking garage started at this college.
Strybos authorized the preliminary work, which will determine where the garage could be located.
The board has not approved the third parking garage, but Strybos said preliminary work still must be done.
“This takes time to do any of these projects, and there are certain things that have to happen,” he said. “Even if a project is never going to happen, I still have to do the work in advance, so I do that.”
“We are doing the preliminary work, the surveying and geodetic boring, to try and identify a possible location for a third parking garage,” Strybos said.
Terracon Consulting Engineers and Scientists was contracted to do the preliminary work, and they subcontracted the work to Austin Geologic.
Strybos said he meets with President Robert Vela every two weeks.
The meeting includes Vela’s executive team and key personnel to discuss all the construction projects going on at this college.
“At these meetings we do not go into nuances and details about any one of the construction projects; we talk very high-level about all of them,” Strybos said.
