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Preliminary Figures Presented to Haldane BOE for Capital Projects Referendum
by Allison Dunne
The Haldane Central School District Board of Education moved one step closer in sculpting the capital projects referendum the Board plans to take to the voters at the end of February 2007. This came during a December 19, 2006 workshop during which representatives from architects and planners Fuller & D’Angelo delivered a presentation on the upcoming referendum.
A steering committee that formed in the fall with the purpose of addressing the project has come up with some recommendations, in working with Fuller & D’Angelo, to the BOE regarding priorities, and Fuller & D’Angelo has come up with various price tags, depending upon which route the Board chooses. The different price tags are, in large part, due to two different heating and ventilation systems choices before the Board. Depending upon which the Board chooses, voters could be looking at either an approximately $6 million or $8 million bond project, a portion of which could be covered by aid. There are, in addition to the heating system choices, three priority list options, that if all were adopted could push the Bond issue to about $9.9 million.
Minus the mechanical systems, the steering committee has set three priority lists. Priority number one carries a price tag of $2,247,364. Top priority items committee members recommend, include, per an order from the New York DEC, removing the buried fuel oil tanks that supply the bus garage and the Mabel Merritt Building. Another top priority is to replace roofs for the 1934 wing; the cafeteria/gym (also known as the 1964 wing); the bus garage and administration building, and the stage. John D’Angelo, in giving a PowerPoint presentation on the recommended work, pointed out via photos that there is severe ponding on the 1964 wing roof. He also said that 8-to-10 coping stones on the 1934 wing are to the point of crumbling, that this wing’s roof has undersized drains, among other problems, and that all of this suggests that water is making its way inside. In fact, said D’Angelo, when his firm performed three sample probes, workers found that the insulation was wet in two of the three samples. In addition, a photo showed algae growing on the building three feet below the roof.
Fixing copings on the elementary wing to prevent further water infiltration is another priority number one item, as is repairing the chimney in the 1934 wing. Minor repairs to the plywood and joints on the bus garage are also listed under priority one.
Another top priority is to replace the cafeteria floor. D’Angelo pointed out that there are currently two layers of floor there, the top vinyl layer, which is “peeling”, and the bottom asbestos layer. He recommends replacing the layers with vinyl composite tile flooring.
Also listed under priority one are drainage repairs along Craigside Drive; adding a sealed sump pump in the boiler room; removing/capping an unused gas line to a former science lab; providing emergency gas shutoff in the kitchen; adding a grease trap to the kitchen pot sink; replacing three electrical panels in the 1934 wing; upgrading fire alarms to current code and standards; and upgrading the security system.
School Business Official Meryl Rubinstein, who sits on the committee, said the committee did not give a recommendation for the mechanical systems, preferring BOE members to hear about options during Fuller & D’Angelo’s presentation, and arrive at their own conclusion. There are two main components to the overhaul of the mechanical systems: heating and air-handling units. As Director of Facilities Wayne Robinson has pointed out for some time, of the two boilers, one has a leak and another has ongoing problems.
Option one, D’Angelo explained, is to replace steam with steam; that is, replace the existing steam boilers and ancillary equipment as well as replace airhandling units at places throughout the Haldane campus. The price tag for this option, said D’Angelo, is about $3.7 million.
Option two, he said, is to replace the steam boilers with new, hot-water boilers, which would entail replacing all the steam equipment. The second option has its pros and cons, said D’Angelo. The cons are the increased cost, and expanded project scope and complexity. The pros, he said, are reduced maintenance costs and improved energy efficiency and indoor air quality. In addition, he said converting to hot water boilers would involve removing unit ventilators, which currently take up space in the classroom and are noisy. Instead, there would be roof-mounted energy recovery ventilation units and ductwork to all classrooms.
The cost of the hot water conversion is about $5.9 million. BOE Vice President Joseph Curto asked whether it were possible to measure just how much more efficient steam would be down the road over hot water, to which a mechanical engineer at the presentation responded, that, unscientifically, there could be a 10 percent increase in efficiency realized in one year with hot water. He noted that the payback in energy-efficiency-translated-into-cost savings comes in tens of years, not in just a few years.
Curto also asked whether it were possible to test the state of Haldane’s current steam pipes, to which the engineer replied, yes, via ultrasonic testing. Facilities Director Wayne Robinson pointed out that the testing might prove worthless, in that one could test one area of a pipe, and that area could be fine; whereas a major problem could lie 10 feet away, in an untested portion of the pipe. In addition, he said testing could cost about $3,000 per day, plus asbestos abatement, which then prolongs the testing, and, as such, adds to the cost.
The engineer said the steam piping at Haldane is about 70 years old, and the average life span of steam piping is 80 years old.
BOE Trustee Kathy Marino asked what would happen if the only functioning boiler gave out before renovations were complete. John D’Angelo said emergency, temporary steam boilers would be brought in at a cost of about $8,000 month.
Along with the increased cost of hot-water conversion comes a more complex project. D’Angelo said the conversion takes place in every classroom, and would push the completion of the project out to the summer of 2009.
Both Curto and Board President David Merandy said the cost figures overall came in higher than they expected, though they praised the thorough job by Fuller & D’Angelo, along with the numerous pricing options the firm.
There are priority lists two and three, for which Fuller and D’Angelo attached a cost. Priority two, at a cost of $493,899, includes replacing deteriorated paving for parking at the Merritt Building and at the Cedar Street entrance.
Priority three, at a cost of $1,309,413, includes repaving other areas; rehabilitating the tennis courts; replacing home and visitors’ bleachers; installing new chain link fencing at various sites; replacing the handicapped entrance ramp to the Administration building; renovating the weight room, team room, and storage; providing emergency communications to the elevators; installing occupancy sensors in storage rooms, closets, and toilets; providing exterior emergency lighting at exits; installing a wireless clock system; and several recommendations concerning upgrading wiring and providing “clean” power for computers.
Whatever the Board decides to include in the referendum, School Business Official Rubinstein says Haldane would be eligible to be covered by aid for up to 34 percent of the 95-97 percent of the project that could be approved by SED, thereby reducing the ultimate cost to the taxpayers.
Superintendent Dr. John Di Natale suggested that for the January 2, 2007 meeting, Rubinstein project potential costs to taxpayers given the various combinations of priorities and the two options for mechanical systems the Board could select for the referendum.
Finally, Trustee Marino urged her fellow Board members to consider including the cost of adding a cafeteria for the high school building in the referendum. She argued that at least having a space to eat in that building would help with scheduling. Merandy said if such an item were included in the referendum, taxpayers would shoot down the entire project in a heartbeat.
Marino’s cafeteria suggestion comes more than one year after area residents voiced their concern at a BOE meeting that state officials would require the Board to ask voters in the next few years to fund the construction of a gymnasium and cafeteria in the high school building, paving the way to turn the high school building into a full-fledged high school. At that time, Di Natale assured residents that there was no plan to build a gym or cafeteria, and it would be at least 10 years before school officials even thought about it.
The next Haldane BOE meeting was to have been a workshop Tuesday, January 2, 2007, on Board discussion of the referendum. A BOE meeting is scheduled for Tuesday January 9, during which the Board is expected to adopt a resolution on the referendum, and Superintendent Di Natale is slated to present his annual report.
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