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Vets Building Review Moves Forward
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Vets Building Review Moves Forward
County Asks for Complete Engineering Report after Closure
By Jessica Lyons
Local veterans will learn the extent of Santa Cruz Veteran's Memorial Building's structural damage within two months.
Santa Cruz County Supervisors approved a $40,000 contract Feb. 23 with William Fisher Architecture to complete an engineering review of the downtown landmark.
The county closed the Vets Hall in late January after stucco began falling from the walls, leading to a report that cited structural problems and potentially life-threatening safety issues.
Damage, particularly to the auditorium, "is extremely significant," wrote Fisher, following a preliminary study of the building. "At several locations we were able to remove, just using our fingers, fist-sized chunks of concrete that had cracked loose. The exposed reinforcing has corroded badly, some of it completely."
An earthquake could bring the 80-year-old building to the ground, according to the report.
"We recognize the significant disruption that closing the building will cause, but safety concerns must be primary at this point," said Joe Schultz, county parks director, on Jan. 21 when the Vets Hall closed.
The building's veterans' offices have since been moved to Emeline Avenue.
The Front Street building's closure forced classes and performances to reschedule, and left local veterans without a meeting place. Some of them grumbled that county officials exaggerated the scope of the safety issue.
Veterans Hope to Return
At a subsequent board meeting, dozens of veterans asked county supervisors to reopen the center as soon as possible.
"It will be an inconvenient process to deal with the relocation of veteran services, both for established veterans, as well as for the newly returning veterans who are in need of answers and assistance," wrote Daniel Young, secretary treasurer of the United Veterans Council of Santa Cruz County. "Since this closure is the result of health and safety issues, I am looking forward to having seismic retrofits completed so that the Veterans Service Office can be returned to its rightful location, at the Veterans Memorial Building, where veterans will feel safe and secure once more."
Although some vets have claimed to have an engineer's report that conflicts with the county's dire assessment, it has not been presented to officials.
County officials aren't saying when — or if — the building will reopen. The cost to retrofit the center isn't known, and coming up with the money needed to shore up the Vets Hall remains a bleak prospect.
At the Feb. 23 meeting, Supervisor Neal Coonerty asked the architects to identify an interim measure — installing support braces, for example.
This would be done in addition to their comprehensive analysis, which will include repair options and cost estimates.
"It's a very important building, particularly to veterans who have been displaced," he said.
"Certainly it's a possibility that you could brace up weak points and occupy the building because we still haven't identified a funding source for this repair."
Fisher has promised to complete the review and report back to county supervisors within 60 days.
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