Collapse halts construction

It had received assistance from various sources – financing from Great Southern Community Development Corp., and construction aid from Hood-Rich Inc. Architects and Engineers and Morelock-Ross Builders.

The new facility was intended to tie in with neighboring nonprofit United Way of the Ozarks.

Everything was going according to schedule.

Then it all came tumbling down.

No one is yet sure what caused the structure to collapse April 27, just two months into construction. Framing for the first and second floors was complete, and concrete was being poured on the second floor when the accident occurred, said Jamie Sivils, spokesman for general contractor Morelock-Ross.

Sivils is not ready to make assumptions about the cause of the accident, though he did say the investigation won’t proceed until clearing of the site begins.

“We’ll have engineers there who will examine materials as they’re being removed from the site,” Sivils said. “A lot of those questions are going to have to just hold on until the engineers tell us what happened.”

Site clearing is tentatively scheduled to begin May 9.

Three workers were inside the structure when the collapse occurred; one managed to escape without injury, while two were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. One has since been released.

The collapse drew concern from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Kansas City Area Office, which sent crews to investigate the site May 2. OSHA officials also met with the companies working on the project.

“They had their initial conference with us, and then they told us that we could go ahead and proceed with our clearing of the site. They didn’t want to hold us up,” Sivils said.

Manuel Olmedo, OSHA’s regional director, said it’s unclear when OSHA will release any workplace safety findings from the investigation, but the administration has a six-month statute of limitations to issue any citations. Olmedo said the nature of the accident indicated the analysis would be lengthy, possibly taking the entire six-month period.

Sivils added that he didn’t think workplace conditions were unsafe. “We take safety seriously in every situation and project,” he said.

Gary Funk, Community Foundation of the Ozarks chairman, said his group remains committed to the project.

“We’re appreciative of the efforts that people have made on our behalf,” he said. “Our major concern was the potential for injuries, and we’re fortunate that the injuries weren’t life-threatening. We’ll just wait until there’s a time that it can be worked out.”

Sivils said discussion has not yet begun on when construction will resume or how much time has been lost.

“That’s the big question, and that would only be speculation right now,” he said. “It’s really too early to tell because it will depend on why (the structure) failed, and that may affect the rebuilding schedule.”

Great Southern CDC Executive Director Brian Fogle said the bank is willing to wait.

“We’re committed to the project, and our discussions with Community Foundation tell us that they still think it’s a great community project,” he said. “Obviously there have been delays, but (finishing the project) is our intent and their intent as well.”

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