Unadilla Valley unveils capital project
Nov. 22—Residents of the Unadilla Valley Central School District will head to the polls Dec. 14 to vote on a $17.8 million building project.
According to Unadilla Valley Board of Education minutes dating back to March, a committee of school district personnel, board of education members, the mayor of New Berlin and architects from King + King Architects was formed to do a building condition survey to come up with a capital project.
Committee members toured each wing of the school and the athletic fields and made notes as to what they want to see changed or updated, the minutes said. The committee presented two reports, one in May and one August, to the board of education with their recommendations, the minutes said. The board approved the project scope during the Oct. 17, meeting, the minutes said.
Even though the school building is 20 years old, the committee found several areas that need attention.
"Just like our own homes, the components, materials and equipment of a school degrade, break down or become obsolete over time," Superintendent Brenton Taylor said in a media release. "As with our homes, it's typically not possible to fix or upgrade everything at once."
About half of the cost of the proposed project would be devoted to roof and HVAC work in the main building and the bus garage, the release said. According to a cost evaluation report supplied by the district, the roof and HVAC work would cost $10,050,000 to complete at the main building, and $1,054,700 to complete at the bus garage.
The project would also build public restrooms near the athletic fields, which would replace portable toilets, and would build team rooms and a concession building near the athletic facilities at a cost of $1,258,800, the report said. New signs on the campus would also be erected at a cost of $16,400, the report said.
The project would also replace the current generator at the main campus, so more areas of the building could be utilized during a power outage, at a cost of $1,254,000, the report said. That would allow the school to be used as an emergency shelter for area residents. The district also would move the existing generator to the school bus garage at a cost of $275,000.
Other projects the capital project would fund are: new plumbing and fixtures in the locker rooms, installing single stall restrooms, replacing the geothermal pump, pool equipment room improvements, gymnasium renovations, cafeteria equipment upgrades, playground replacements, configure space of public restrooms in the bus garage, lighting upgrades in the bus garage and improve the concrete floor in the bus garage.
The renovations and improvements would be funded through state aid and an allocation from the district's reserve funds. The project is expected to be budget neutral, with no anticipated impact on the tax levy.
The vote will be held from noon to 8 p.m. in Storm Alley at the District Office entrance.
If approved by a majority of district residents on Dec. 14, the project would then enter a design phase, state Education Department review and a competitive bidding process early next year, the release said.
