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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW UPDATED: Trump, Sanders victorious in New Hampshire primaries ... Man jailed after allegedly groping jogger on Bear Creek Greenway ... Oregon man who killed officer had long criminal record ... UPDATED: Trump, Sanders victorious in New Hampshire primaries ... Man jailed after allegedly groping jogger on Bear Creek Greenway ... Oregon man who killed officer had long criminal record ... OUR VIEW Our View: Renovating the Capitol is important but costly Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 20, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted May. 20, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News A relatively minor earthquake hit Salem in 1993. It cracked the dome of the state Capitol, nearly caused the rotunda to collapse and shifted the gold pioneer statue atop the dome. A major subduction zone earthquake — "the big one" — is likely to be 900 times more powerful. So making the Capitol more earthquake resistant only makes sense. The question is, does the work have to cost nearly $340 million? That's the estimated price tag of a seismic retrofit and remodeling of the 1938 Capitol building. The plan is to pay for the project with general-obligation bonds, to be paid back from the state general fund. There is no question the Capitol is unsafe in a major earthquake. As the seat of government in the state, it houses not only both houses of the Legislature but the offices of the governor, the secretary of state, the treasurer and more than 400 employees. What's more, 235,000 people visit the Capitol every year, including 20,000 schoolchildren. The Capitol Master Plan Review Committee, a bipartisan group appointed in 2014 to review renovation plans, recommended a seismic retrofit of the original building. At that time, the project was estimated to cost about $250 million. The total cost has now grown to $334 million. Preserving the original building as a museum and building a new modern office building to house the Legislature could be done for $127 million to $145 million, the committee concluded, but that would leave the original still open to the public and still vulnerable to a major quake. If the Capitol were destroyed in a quake, rebuilding it would cost $300 million to $475 million. The committee chose to recommend retrofitting the original building. That would involve excavating beneath the structure and installing rubber "base isolation" systems that would help the building withstand the shaking of a major quake. In addition, the plumbing, electrical and other systems of the original building have outlived their normal life and need to be replaced, and other remodeling is planned to make the building more efficient and bring parts of it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The state's bonding capacity is limited, and money borrowed for one purpose means other needs — such highway and bridge construction projects — cannot be met. It would behoove lawmakers to take a close look at the Capitol renovation project and see what costs could be reduced without sacrificing seismic safety. Looking outside the state budget also is worth considering. If some portion of the renovation cost could be raised privately, it would make borrowing the rest easier to sell to Oregonians still reeling from the effects of the Great Recession. MailTribune.com Writer Posted May. 20, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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