Up-Front
Glass House 'Maxxed'
Government Administration Building -The Glass House
Some government-owned buildings, includingthe main administration
structure, the 'Glass House' are in breach of current Fire Codeand recommendations by the Fire Department over the past 10 yearshave largely been ignored, Cayman Net News has learnt.
Informed government sources have indicatedthat from day one, the Glass House has never met the Fire Code;the central corridor presents a design flaw. The building hasno outside staircase that could be used as an independent fireescape. It is also understood that the Tower Building is in breachof the Fire Code. In fact, both buildings have two elevators,but at the moment only one in each is operational.
Public sector departments are housed in the Glass House, The TowerBuilding, the Education Department building on Thomas RussellWay, the Agriculture Department at Lower Valley, which are government-owned.Other departments are in 18 leased premises, including CricketSquare, Piccadilly Centre and Elizabethan Square.
"Government continues to ignore recommendations that we havemade," Fire Department sources said. "They are not takingour recommendations seriously. The bottom line is safety and thebuildings are not safe from a life saving point of view,"the sources said.
Cayman Net News tried to ascertain from Planning Department whenand if certificates of occupancy were issued for these buildingsbut that department was unable to accommodate our publicationdeadline.
When contacted for comment on government buildings meeting theFire Code, a spokesperson at Government Information Service indicatedthat the information had to be released with the Ministry's authorityand that this was not possible by press time. However, seniora Government official said that he will speak to Cayman Net Newslater this week.
Part of the problem with the building, sources say, is lack ofworking space.
"The space is inadequate," a government official stated,referring to the Glass House, and adding that the current spaceallocation does not meet the Labour Board's or Planning Department'scriteria.
The Glass House, built in 1973, has seen its occupancy increasethree-fold over the past 27 years. The need for space may be directlyrelated to the growth of the public sector. In 1980, there were923 established posts; 748 were filled.
A decade later, this had more than doubled to 1,943 filled posts;in 1995, there were 2,203 established posts, with 2,016 filled.The most recent available figures for 1999 show 2,812established posts, with 2,443 filled.
These figures do not include statutory bodies such as the WaterAuthority, Port Authority, Monetary Authority and the Stock Exchange,which are housed separately.
In addition, another Ministry was added to Government in 1996,which meant a natural increase in public sector workers and afurther demand for administrative space.
It is understood that Government is seeking additional officespace and may be consider leasing, as it would take up to threeyears to build.