Fall 08
Vol. 13 No. 4

J.B. White, General Services, left, and Ernesto Maldonado of Glassman Shoemake Maldonado Architects meet at the Clayton House Library to ensure the job is done to their specifications. By meeting on-site, White receives up-to-the-moment updates on city projects. Photo by Bobby Vasquez

By Bobby Vasquez

Standing in the middle of the gutted new Frank Express Library on West Belfort, J.B. White picked up a book of blueprints, looked up, and then quickly looked back at the blueprints.

“Pins. This duct is missing insulation pins,” he told the contractors. A few other contractors huddled around White and the blueprints. After a brief conversation and a lot of pointing, they confirmed White caught an error. The smallest discrepancy between blueprints and finished labor could mean the difference between spending a few extra minutes or hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix the problem.

“It can be a struggle sometimes,” he said. “But a job has to be done right. Luckily, this wasn’t something that could have been really bad in the long run.”

This was just a minor problem, but to White, a senior project manager in General Services, it had to be corrected. Raised in Uvalde, White has worked in construction since he could pick up a hammer. He joined the city in 2004 after spending years in the private sector. He is part of a team of project managers who oversee as many as 50 city construction projects at any time.

His projects are as diverse as the city.

“Each job is different. They all have their individual challenges,” he said. However, they all have their contractors, subcontractors, committees and interest groups who devote their time and talents to completing the job.

Back to the future
Situated between the MetroRail and Caroline St., the 90-year-old Clayton House Library is partially obscured by construction equipment and a lot of workers. But soon, the compound will be restored and retrofitted with green products recommended by Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. (See related story, Houstonians find family trees, on Page 7). Like all city projects, the city, library and contractors are doing their best to leave their smallest footprint on the project.

“There are a lot of new concepts in the way we do things,” White said. “We are more aware of the way we select materials for our projects and how they are designed.”

By using green products and material procured from local sources when possible, the city consumes less to build more and lessens its environmental impact at work sites, he said.

“Technology has improved, so it is easier to work environmentally friendly things into the project.”

To successfully guide projects to completion, project managers must constantly be available to contractors and city departments. That means a lot of meetings, coordinated through many busy schedules. White also acts as a liaison between the groups to ensure projects are completed on time, on budget and in compliance with the specifications.

Bend, but don’t break
“You have to be flexible. Sometimes what we have in the blueprints isn’t exactly what the finished product will be,” he said.
While meeting with contractors, architects and HPL, safety issues were raised concerning some shelving. Architect Ernesto Maldonado said the edges of the metal shelves could be too sharp, causing a safety hazard. After some discussion, the group came to a compromise resulting in a slight modification of the plans. The alteration didn’t result in a change of material or cost for the project.

“Safety is a priority,” White said. “Sometimes, we have to make a change, and when we do, it’s for the better.”

Mission: Possible
White’s other major library project involves the Frank Library at 6440 West Belfort. There, he meets with HPL and contractors to gather progress reports on major changes to the library. This project involves closing the Frank Library and building a quick-service express library where patrons can pick up requested material, check out best-sellers and use computers.

Because the city is putting the library on the first floor of an existing office building at 10103 Fondren, the library is conforming its service to fit into an existing space. The site will be known as the Frank Express Library.

After a day of touring work sites and meeting with contractors, White proudly reflects on his job. “It’s nice to go home every day with a sense of accomplishment,” he said.

Driving back to his office at the City Hall Annex, he points out the Southwest Service Center near the Southwest Freeway – a project he supervised from the ground up.

“A lot of people use that building every day,” White said. “The city has all kinds of services in there that makes people’s lives better. It’s nice to know that I had a hand in that and that the job was done right.”

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