Office of
Facilities Planning
Newsletter #109 – August 2012
Welcome to New Staff
Jean Beaudet joined the
Facilities Planning Project Manager staff on July 23. Jean has worked for NYS for 32 years and the
State Education Department (SED) for almost 19 years. Prior to coming to Facilities Planning, she
worked in the SED Charter School Office for 5 years and in the SED Rate Setting
Unit for 14 years. Other state
experience included working at the NYS-Office of General Services in the Bureau
of Leases doing fiscal and lease document reviews for commercial space leased
by NYS. Jean graduated with an
undergraduate degree in accounting from
Jean lives in
Project Submissions
We
have been receiving a number of project submissions where required items are
not paper-clipped in the specifications.
Please refer to FP-CL Checklist for Application for Building Permit and
Examination and Approval of Final Plans and Specifications form, 2nd
page, under Specifications, for items required to be paper-clipped as follows:
·
Wage Rates
·
Equivalency
Clause
·
Non Collusive
Clause
·
Uniform Safety
Standards - Commissioner's Regulations 155.5
Vermiculite – Asbestos Containing
In
April of 2011, the NYS Department of Health issued a list of frequently asked
questions regarding asbestos/fibers analysis.
One of the questions was: “How can I tell if vermiculite contains
asbestos or what sampling methods should be used?” The following is the Department of Health’s
response:
According to the EPA, you should
assume that vermiculite insulation contains asbestos. It is recommended that you do not disturb it;
or use a trained professional if it needs to be disturbed or removed. According to NYS Industrial Code Rule 56,
vermiculite is a suspect miscellaneous asbestos containing material. Since there is currently no approved
analytical methodology to reliably confirm vermiculite as non-asbestos
containing, it is always best to assume vermiculite is contaminated with
asbestos and proceed accordingly. For
more information see the EPA website at
http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/pubs/verm.html.
The full DOH question and answer sheet
can be seen at: https://www.p12.nysed.gov/facplan/documents/NYSAsbestosFAQApril8-2011.pdf
.
In June of 2012, DOH also
issued a Q and A update specifically in reference to vermiculite. Please view this document at: https://www.p12.nysed.gov/facplan/documents/VermiculiteGuidance_Rev062212.pdf
There are many school buildings with
vermiculite that have historically been managed in accordance with this
previous guidance. However, as noted
above, there is no longer any approved testing methodology for vermiculite, and
therefore it must be treated as an asbestos containing material.
Accessible Pools - Means of Entry and
Exit
The
Department of Justice published revised final regulations implementing the
Americans with Disabilities Act for Title II (State and local government
services) and Title III (public accommodations and commercial facilities) on
September 15, 2010 in the Federal Register. Link to Revised ADA Requirements:
Accessible Pools - http://www.ada.gov/pools_2010.htm
The
2010 Standards set minimum requirements for making swimming pools, wading
pools, and spas (pools) accessible. Newly constructed and altered pools must
meet these requirements. Public entities and public accommodations also have
obligations with respect to existing pools. State and local governments must
make recreational programs and services, including swimming pool programs, accessible
to people with disabilities. Public accommodations must bring existing pools
into compliance with the 2010 Standards to the extent that it is readily
achievable to do so.
.
Compliance
Dates:
On
or after March 15, 2012
All
newly constructed or altered facilities of public entities and public
accommodations, including pools, must comply with the 2010 Standards, and all
existing facilities of public entities and public accommodations, including
pools, must comply with the 2010 Standards to the extent required under Title
II accessibility or Title III readily achievable barrier removal requirements.
How
does this affect schools?
If
an existing pool currently has an accessible lift to provide access to a pool,
it would need to comply with the 2010 Standard. To be in compliance the
existing lift may need to be modified or replaced, to provide independent
operation by individuals with disabilities. Larger pools with over 300 linear
feet of wall must have two means of entry and exit (provided by ramps or lifts).
Typical
school pools are 25 yards /meters in length, and 6 or 8 lanes wide, with less
than 300 feet of wall length, and therefore requiring only one accessible
location.
Districts
that are currently out of compliance should plan on making necessary upgrades
in compliance with the standards as soon as possible. Capital construction associated with such
modifications will be eligible for building aid.
New Final Cost report process
Please
be remindful of the legislation enacted last session with respect to Final Cost
reports. In a nutshell, if your project
was approved prior to July 1, 2011, you remain subject to the “old” provisions
that start the Final Cost report deadline clock based on the date of final
substantial completion. If the Final Cost
report is considered late, all aid with respect to the project is lost. This includes aid already paid, and any aid
that would have been due for the remainder of the amortization period.
For
those projects approved by the Commissioner on or after July 1, 2011, the rules
are different. There is no longer any Final
Cost report deadline so you cannot lose all aid, however, aid for your project
will not begin to flow until both the final CSC (Certificate of Substantial
Completion) and the FCR are received by the Department, but no earlier than 18
months. Therefore if your project takes
24 months to complete and submit documentation, your aid cannot flow before
then. It is critical to maintain proper
project documentation and to be able to submit final cost reports as soon as
possible after the completion of a project.
Other changes include submission of Final Cost reports directly to the Office
of State Aid.
There
are circumstances where aid can be allowed to flow in 18 months for complex and/or
complicated projects that cannot reasonably be completed in 18 months. For a complete guide to the new process,
please see the joint memo released by the Office of State aid, and the Office
of Facilities Planning at the following link:
https://stateaid.nysed.gov/build/pdf_docs/ch_97_bldg_aid_guidance_with_timelines.pdf
.
Late Final Cost Report Forgiveness
The
Legislature also enacted a forgiveness package for those districts that
currently have late Final Cost reports.
For those projects that are currently late, the district can submit a
Final Cost Report no later than December 31, 2012 and have aid partially
restored. The penalty has changed from
the total loss of all aid to the loss of aid for the time that the report was
considered late.
If that same report is
received January 1, 2013 or later, no aid
will be restored. Please visit the
following link for details: https://stateaid.nysed.gov/build/html_docs/pastdue_final_cost_rep_cap_projects.htm
Facilities’
Planning has developed the following list of potentially late final cost
reports using the best data available from our various sources. Each district is responsible to ensure that
their final cost reports are submitted on time.
Please be aware that a project that is not on this list could still be
potentially late – for example if the district has not submitted a CSC wherein
the actual date of substantial completion renders the project late despite the
fact that the form has not been submitted.
Please review all current and outstanding projects to ensure your
various reports are filed or as necessary, you submit necessary reports by
12/31/12. No aid will be restored after
that date.
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/facplan/Projects/PLFCRS.htm
Please send any general
comments, requests, or questions to Carl Thurnau at cthurnau@mail.nysed.gov or
518-474-3906.
An Index of our Newsletters is available on our
website at
https://www.p12.nysed.gov/facplan/NewsLetters.htm