W-B Area approves sale of Meyers High School

May 11—WILKES-BARRE — In a meeting packed with big ticket transactions Monday the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board voted to move forward with the sale of Meyers High School for $2 million to a developer planning an assisted living facility while promising to retain the facade, auditorium and gym but raze Memorial Stadium for parking.

The stadium may be available for the 2021-22 school year, depending on how quickly the buyer, Shlomo Lugashi, can get the project underway, but the district is making contingency plans to hold five home football games this coming school year at other local district stadiums if necessary. Practices would be held at the Solomon/Plains complex. The district is planning a new stadium at the site of the new high school, but it won't be done in time for the upcoming season.

The board also approved a deal for extensive new LED lighting at GAR Memorial High School as it is being converted into a middle school, at a cost of $609,611, which Superintendent Brian Costello said is part one of a two-year project that will include new flooring, new lockers and a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

And the board approved the purchase of $964,659 in furniture, fixtures and equipment for the new consolidated high school nearing completion in Plains township. Project Manager Michael Krzywicki of Apollo Group Inc. said the building is about 90% done and is expected to be ready for students as planned this fall. He also said the district has spent or committed a total of about $3.5 million of a contingency fund, or about 54.3% of the total, meaning it will have saved about $2.9 million that was set aside but not spent.

Board members spoke at length about the difficult decision in selling Meyers, with Mark Atherton pointing out he graduated from Meyers and lived in the neighborhood his whole life. He said he would have been willing to forego a sale if the buyer's plans didn't keep "the integrity" of the venerable building. "Assisted living is not everyone's vision," he said, but "the buyer said he will do everything he can to keep the facade, auditorium, cafeteria and gymnasium" intact.

The sale agreement does not require those parts of the building remain as they are, but all board members voiced confidence in the buyer's track record and promise. Once completed, the facility is expected to create about 300 jobs, and the auditorium and gym will be available for district use.

Sam Troy, the only resident to speak during the public comment section, urged the board to delay the vote on the Meyers sale and hold a referendum to see what the public wants to be done with the building. He also suggested the board should allow more time for public comment beyond the 5-minute limit. He suggested the board have two session, one for comment on agenda items and another for non-agenda items, as other districts do. Board Member Beth Ann Owens agreed with Troy regarding public comment and said she has been discussing such a change with other board members.

Troy also singled out a payment to Terrana Law, P.C., totalling $197,032, angrily asking why there was no explanation for such a steep payment to one law firm. Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said Terrana was acting as an escrow agent in the purchase of several properties necessary to add a left turn lane to the off ramp of the North Cross Valley Expressway onto Main Street. He said Terrana merely took the money and disbursed most of it to the property owners. The state required the expansion of the ramp to accommodate higher traffic expected when the nearby high school opens.

The GAR lighting project will be done by Shaedler Yesco Distribution and their installer Wind Gap Electric. The purchases are being made through the state COSTAR system, which allows local government agencies to piggy-back onto contracts made by the state.

Costello announced the board has been notified that the state approved the district's PlanCon Part K filings. PlanCon is the state's system of obtaining state reimbursement for construction projects, and Part K is the calculation of the reimbursement rate. Costello said the state approved reimbursement on two bonds that, over their lifetime, will cost about $285 million to repay principle and interest, and that the state is expected to reimburse about $42 million of the cost over the life of the bonds.

Costello also announced that proms will be held May 27, 28 and 29 at the Solomon complex outdoors, and thanked the Anthracite Cafe for providing tents and catering. He also noted graduations will be held in person June 10 with the Meyers event at 9:30 a.m., GAR's at 11 a.m. and Coughlin's at 2 p.m. The first two will be at the respective schools, but the Coughlin graduation will be at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Costello said there will be no crowd size restrictions other than the capacity of the locations, but that masks will still be required unless the state drops that mandate before commencement date.

And Costello said the district is setting up summer programs for students who may have struggled or slipped in academic achievement this past year. One program for students with Individual Education Plans began on Monday and will run through June 2. The STEP-up to the Pack program will run four weeks after that at three schools, — Heights-Murray, Kistler and Solomon/Plains. A third program related to performing arts is also in the works.

In other business on the packed agenda, the board:

—Awarded a contract for the Heights-Murray switchgear replacement project to low bidder Brennan Electric at a cost of $166,690, with a possible additional cost of $44,000 for replacement of a buss duct if testing determines that is necessary.

—Approved change orders for high school work totalling $238,708. The biggest one is with Everon Electrical Contractors, Inc., for connecting a tamper switch into the fire alarm system, powering a clean agent system, and miscellaneous electrical revisions for a total of $135,581.

—Agreed to a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOT) deal with the nonprofit buying the Sherman Hills Apartments in Wilkes-Barre. The company will annually pay the same amount as the property tax payment last year, $256,188, plus an escalation factor still under negotiation.

—Approved an agreement to buy an empty lot on Maffett Street near the main entrance to the new school. Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said it is needed for a sewer line but also will serve as staging area and entrance for work on the parts of the roughly 77 acre property not yet developed. The board will pay $45,000 to Barbara Musnuff for the lot.

—Approved an agreement with Geo-Science Engineering Testing LLC in regard to a vertical mine shaft on the property but not near any planned development. Krzywicki said it was a known issue from the start and doesn't present any major danger. At cost not to exceed $26,950, Geo-Science will locate the shaft and recommend action including any needed excavation, remediation such as a cap, and likely fencing around the shaft site.

—Approved renewal of membership with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association for the 2021-22 school year at a cost of $15,840.

—Retained Mark J. Sobeck Roof Consultant, Inc. for design and inspection proposal for Solomon Elementary School re-roofing at a cost of $13,340 plus a per-inspection fee of $300, with 15 inspections recommended.

—Approved an agreement with The Meadows Psychiatric Center for the next two school years for educational services at a rate of $67 per day.

—Entered a five-year lease agreement with Topp Copy for printers and scanners at a monthly cost of $24,353.