Alternative report on Vets Hall suggests building should reopen

Sorry to hear the Tim Bratton may have to lose his job.
I know Tim was a luntic sometimes, but given the situation at Vets Hall he did his job as well as anyone could expect.
Santa Cruz needs a entertainment venue like Vets hall .
It has serviced 10's of 1000's of X-mas and Thanks giving dinners.
I think the county should cough up the dough and fix the place up !
There is some chewing gum over at longs that would do the trick !

Oh Yes maybe bring back 'Eric' who usde to do the cleaning there many years ago .
Eric knows what the right gum to buy is at 'Longs'

Veterans aren't exactly very high on the list Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and Democratic Central Committee issues.

"Based upon our brief visual observation it is our opinion that the deterioration observed presents a significant risk of injury or death to the occupants of the auditorium should a seismic event occur," read the report by Soquel engineering firm Streeter Group Inc.

A "brief visual inspection" is not enough to shut down this building forever. How much did the county(my tax dollars)pay for this "brief visual inspection"?

"There's too much at risk," said Nancy Gordon, director of county's General Service Department, which oversees county facilities.

The greater risk and potential harm is to the community because we will be losing a gathering place for many different groups of LOCAL social services and arts/entertainment events. I want my tax dollars to be spent on more than a "brief visual inspection" before they tear down a local landmark building.

"my opinion" take care of our vets, i understand unsound building, but sweeping them away for another day is wrong.. as many did , there was no , and i mean no time off when they served.. old folks, vets and children come first, period.. lets take care of our people, or are we too busy.. PEACE "my opinion"

Seems there must be something else going on here. The county is basing their action on a "brief" examination of the building. Odds of an earthquake hitting at any moment are very small. The Vets Hall is a thriving cultural resource in our town. For the county to drag out determining the actual extent of the problem really makes them seem to not care about the community. This action directly affects hundreds of people a day. Get off the stick, county commissioners, and open the Vets Hall as soon as possible!

If it made through the 89 quake is that not proof positive that it some seismic stability???

"At this state, it means nothing in terms of the structural capacities of the building," he said, noting that the fix was relatively simple. "It's deferred maintenance. The county should have taken care of that a long time ago."

Then they wouldn't be able to flatten the place under false pretense like they did the Cooper House. It's called "earthquake safety gentrification". If they cared at all about safety they would have listened to crazy Billy when he reported the crumbling wall in the old book store before Loma Prieta --- you know, the one that fell and killed 3 people. Instead they ostracized him and 86'd him from every place in town because they considered him a "snitch" who might threaten their businesses by uncovering their negligence. They don't care if you die as long as you go away.

OK, start hating now.

Westside Dave wrote:

If it made through the 89 quake is that not proof positive that it some seismic stability???

No.

hello
it is a good thing the vet's stand up to these county tyrrant's.
we should put these profiteers on trial and hang them now if we find that they are in with the malefactor. steering us to our death.
patrick d lancelin
SANTA CRUZ NEW'S NET @1995
this is more of the bush doctrine, obama can't do it alone .

Its the Sentinel reporting so who know what facts were left out or misreported.
Have to wonder about the county condemning a building on a vague report. A big enough "seismic event" would presents a significant risk of injury or death to the occupants of any building including the County government building. It should be evacuated immediately.
I'll submit my bill for half as much as the last guy.

Nevermind, dont include the County government building, it'll survive anything. Last thing we need is for them to say they need a new building.

Elias wrote:

Veterans aren't exactly very high on the list Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and Democratic Central Committee issues.

Not to defend either of those boards too much, but if that building falls and squishes 50 vets during a meeting, the same posters here would be saying "incompetent county bureaucrats! They knew the building was falling apart and did NOTHING to help the veterans".

Can't have it both ways.

Please bring back the vets hall. It served so many people in this county. From people who served our country to tax paying citizens gathering for yoga and dance courses.

sanity wrote:

<quoted text>
Not to defend either of those boards too much, but if that building falls and squishes 50 vets during a meeting, the same posters here would be saying "incompetent county bureaucrats! They knew the building was falling apart and did NOTHING to help the veterans".
Can't have it both ways.

Oh, but THEY'LL TRY.

It's about taking responsibility. The county's bleeding money; it doesn't want to take the risk that an old building they own that MIGHT be unsafe will kill people in a quake. And yeh, it's bureaucratic FUNDAMENT-COVERING.

But I ask you -- if you went to all these vets and said, we'll reopen if YOU'LL pledge EVERYTHING YOU OWN against personal injury and death claims if the building falls -- how many would do it?

It's only not a risk when YOU'RE NOT RESPONSIBLE.

So the County lets them back in, the building fails, and the County gets sued for letting people in. It's happened before, and it will happen again. Our taxes going to lawsuits...

Anyone want to tell me what would make rebar swell other than water intrusion? That's pretty serious deterioration. If the rebar expands, the concrete around it fractures in unpredictable ways.

Elias wrote:

Veterans aren't exactly very high on the list Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and Democratic Central Committee issues.

And why is that? Yes, I know this attitude-the military is just "there" to protect my azz.

reality check - please wrote:

So the County lets them back in, the building fails, and the County gets sued for letting people in. It's happened before, and it will happen again. Our taxes going to lawsuits...

Listen, I've got a little reality check for you-the building isn't going to fall down on "them" and, your taxes are wasted on alot more then people who fought to protect your ass.

I am all for keeping and reopening the vets hall. Use it for VETS, not Yoga classes and other types of ongoing events that has slowly eroded the many services the hall used to serve for vets. Concerts, fine, but use the money to maintain the building. It has survived this long. Considering where it is, on sand like everything downtown, its safer than many existing buildings downtown. "A brief visual inspection." Geez, can they red tag my home using a brief visual inspection?

REALpeople wrote:

Please bring back the vets hall. It served so many people in this county. From people who served our country to tax paying citizens gathering for yoga and dance courses.