
MAIN ROAD, WASHINGTON ISLAND -
"As you probably know, there are construction issues with the building which the Board has been trying to get corrected for several years." - Island Observer, Nov. 19, 2009
Exterior wall supports appeared approximately three years into the very young, six-year life of the facility known as the Trueblood Performing Arts Center, located south of Island Schools on Main Road.
Twenty-one steel angle struts were secured mid-way up the walls on the south, east, and a portion of the north TPAC exterior walls, and were anchored to 17 concrete blocks of several tons each. These supports were installed, as we recall from an article in the Island Observer at the time, by project contractor Selmer Company to add lateral stability to the walls, which in turn, are key to holding up the sections of heavy concrete roof. Exactly why these struts were essential was not made clear to the public then, or in the intervening months and years since installation.
Possibilities of improper design, or faulty construction practices, or lack of sufficient builder oversight by the construction supervisor - separately or in combination - may have played a part in the suspicion that the building's integrity is at risk. Not considered serious enough to close at the time, but serious enough to justify the additional support, these multiple steel struts were to be an interim solution to a longer term fix. It would appear that island client TPAC has been cast adrift by these entities who have each scrambled into their own lifeboat and sailed to the four winds. It has the appearance of each lacking the corporate responsibility and conscience to stand by a faulty project.
A Nov. 10th news release from TPAC manager Doc Westring appeared in the November 19th issue of the Island Observer, and this sheds a bit more light on the building's status. This news release also raises more questions as it begs the reader to provide more between-the-lines interpretation.
We are asked to accept the judgement of the TPAC Board and its recent decision to close the TPAC for an indefinite time, while matters of culpability and solution are weighed. A hoped for solution may occur in quiet settlement behind closed doors, with the original contracted providers, not the TPAC Inc. private non-profit, agreeing to pick up the repair tab. We have an inkling, based on our reading between the lines, that this may come down to a court enforcement against the licensed, professional entities of designer (Frederick Phillips and Assoc.), builder (Selmer Company), and construction supervisor (Voss Jorgensen Schueller), requiring them to make good on a project that has now resulted, officially, in closure.
( As pointed out in the News Release, this is not a State imposed closure: the Board's vote to voluntarily close recognizes the risks, the low-usage during winter anyway, and the need to force the point with those who would ignore cooperative solutions at little to no cost to the TPAC.)
We will not speculate on what sort of problems exactly are being faced, because we do not know for certain. Therefore, we don't know what sort of solutions are required, or desired. The public has no information on the financial status of the TPAC, but we have to believe the cooperation of the contracted providers mentioned above is wished for, rather than a lengthy and costly court proceeding that might produce a less desirable result than cooperation, the act of doing what is right.
In the meantime, more TPAC BOARD clarity is awaited. We are somewhat puzzled as to why the TPAC Board did not provide this information directly, or why the TPAC President speaking for the Board didn't provide the public communication. At this point, we do not even know who the TPAC Board is, or who their president is, or what authority Doc Westring was given (he recently held the title of TPAC Manager.) We have never seen public disclosure of finances, financial goals or expenditures, and for this reason the public may find it easy now to distance itself from "someone else's problem." When we see those steel supports on a daily basis as we drive past the TPAC, they've become as familiar to the island landscape as a tree or longstanding barn.
Over the past six years, since the TPAC first opened, practically every island person, resident, property owner, and regular visitor has attended at least one event that has brought enjoyment, enlightenment, or an evening's entertainment. This facility with its comfortable seating and excellent acoustics, despite prohibitive cold weather operation, has become an important and desired focal point. This winter's closure may not be a big deal because we understand winter is a hard time to heat a facility and make it profitable, and the winter audience potential is more finite. But if closure continues into summer, it will begin to impact island life. Provisions are now being made to secure alternative locations for many key events.
While trying to understand the need for discreetness in public communications, it has been a running observation that the island public has never, in the eyes of this observer, been worthy of disclosure of financial status, while still being pursued by the TPAC for support in all ways conceivable. In every sense, the closure of the TPAC faciity has become a community liability. Silent support is necessary now.
- Dick Purinton






