The Gillett School District is preparing to launch a $3 million building improvement project to update its aging facilities, enhance building safety and implement energy conservation measures.
Residents of the school district are invited to learn about the proposed renovations at a public meeting on Dec. 4.
The School Board on Thursday reviewed a timeline, scope of work and financial model prepared by the district’s consultants. Representatives of Energy Services Group, hired by the district in May, presented their scenario for energy savings and facility improvement measures that the school district’s planning committee recommended.
The list included a campuswide energy conservation upgrade of lighting, controls and building envelop.
The secondary school, built in 1924, would undergo a number of facility improvements related to plumbing, heating, ventilation and roofing.
Energy Services Group has guaranteed an energy savings of $67,000, once the projects are complete.
°Superintendent Todd Carlson said the improvements are long overdue.
“Some of these buildings have been neglected,” Carlson said. “Really, it’s time to address some of these needs.”
The original furnace, installed in 1927, is still in use. It was first used as a coal-burning furnace and then was upgraded to a boiler system.
“We’ve got a 1927 boiler that’s barely kicking,” Carlson said.
“Every contractor that’s walked through here is scared to death of that 1927 air handling unit,” said Josh Hounsell, account executive for Energy Services Group, chuckling.
Carlson said the heating and ventilation system in the original 1924 part of the secondary school can no longer keep up, making air quality an issue. Temperature variations in the classrooms is another concern, he said.
“We’ve had rooms with a lot of problems, and it’s hard to teach in those classrooms,” he said. When the cold weather hit in mid-November, supplemental heaters were placed in some classrooms on the second floor where temperatures were 55°F, Carlson said.
Another area slated for an upgrade is the front entrance of the elementary school, which poses a safety risk because the front doors are not visible from the school office. The removal of a display case and the addition of doors are proposed to make the building more secure.
If all goes as planned, noninvasive work is set to begin in the spring, with heavy construction beginning in June and completed during the summer.
Carlson said now is the time to undertake these projects, while lending rates are favorable and the district is in its final year of debt retirement, paying back $400,000 annually. If the district secures a 10-year loan to complete building renovations, the payback is projected at $300,000 annually, potentially lowering the taxes of district residents.
The School Board plans to apply for an energy savings exemption to the revenue limit, as allowed by the state, to fund the work. Once the School Board passes a resolution in favor of the exemption, residents have 30 days in which to complete a petition drive to challenge the board’s decision with a public vote.
The Dec. 4 public meeting is not required by state law, but was recommended by Hounsell.
“When you starting talking about 1, 2, 2½ million dollars being spent, people want to know what you’re doing. It gives you enough time to educate the public on exactly why you’re doing things,” he said.
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