Report on MMS soil conditions is in

An engineering study commissioned by City Council to study subsurface conditions on the campus of Memorial Middle School concludes the ground beneath the school's parking lot is "readily suitable" for new construction. The highly technical nine-page report from GeoInsight of Manchester also states it is "likely" the foundation for the current 40+ year old building is "not well supported in places" and suggests additional investigation will be necessary to determine to load capacity of the existing "shallow spread" footings.

The report indicates there might be several options available for improving the foundation of the school but does not give any indication as to how much that might cost.

The City Council agreed to pay as much as $5,100 for the study, believing an evaluation of the suitability of the actual land the school sits on to be critical in any discussion of renovation or reconstruction on the site. A 2000 report focused on the condition of the 100,000-square-foot building itself, but not on the condition of the ground beneath it. Nearly everyone has heard stories over the years that suggest the lakeside building is sinking. The GeoInsight report, on the other hand, does not indicate any particularly alarming discoveries.

The School Board will be asking City Council to approve $1-million in planning money in fiscal year 2006-2007 to plan for the construction of new middle school at the current location. Several council members have stated they have not yet been convinced the current building can't be satisfactorily improved for less money.

GeoInsight's report was delivered to City Hall yesterday afternoon. City Manager Eileen Cabanel distributed copies to councilors in time for last nights regular meeting but there was no discussion of it. Cabanel did briefly read from the reports summary pages.

It was unclear as to if or when councilors might receive a lay-persons briefing on the findings in the report, or just what the next step might be.

Memorial Middle School was build on a 4.5-acre site adjacent to Lake Opechee and Opechee Park in 1961 and a third story was added in 1963. The parking lot down next to Clairmont street holds about 100 cars.

Earlier this month, GeoInsight's dug four shallow pits along the west wall of the building in order to examine the condition of the soils beneath the footings. The company also took soil boring samples at two locations just west of the building and at two more places in the south parking lot. The drilling depths ranged from 20 to 22 feet.

The report states that groundwater was observed at a depth of five to 10 feet in the boring locations.

The engineering company reported the "weak soils" discovered beneath the footings of the building appeared related to "poor sub-grade preparation" rather than to "an extensive natural condition". The report also seems to indicate the presence of "localized areas of fill" on the campus that would require "removal and replacement with structural borrow".