Gillett School District representatives on Thursday outlined a “rare opportunity” for the district to complete much-needed maintenance projects, yet reduce the tax levy.
About 30 people learned about a plan for campuswide energy conservation upgrades, plus secondary school improvements related to plumbing, heating, ventilation and roofing. The district’s planning committee, working with consultants from Energy Services Group, have identified $2.975 million in upgrades.
The School Board on Dec. 18 plans to pass a resolution to apply for an energy savings exemption to the revenue limit, then apply for a 10-year loan at an interest rate of just under 3 percent. Annual payments of an estimated $350,000 would be offset by the approximate $67,000 in energy savings guaranteed by ESG, lowering the payment to about $283,000 a year.
That amount is less than district’s current debt load. In spring, the district will pay its final $410,000 payment for a loan secured when additions were built onto the secondary school.
“I think we have a really unique opportunity to move forward here, and at the same time, with the improvements, actually reduce the tax levy,” said School Board President Miles Winkler.
He said the district has struggled in the annual budget process to keep up with “what’s needed to be done.”
“The advantage we have here is we can maintain our building and grounds, we can reduce our operation maintenance costs in the future, and we can provide a safe learning environment,” Winkler said.
“We also want to make sure this district is here in the future,” he added.
At September’s annual meeting, taxpayers approved a $2.9 million tax levy that translated to $1,080 in taxes for a person owning property valued at $100,000. According to School Board Treasurer Cliff Gerbers, compared to 2014, taxpayers would pay $40 less per $100,000 of property value if the energy savings proposal is approved.
Patricia Aguilera, a parent of three children in the school district, questioned why critical maintenance had been delayed.
“It’s hard to do this out of your operational budget, your year-to-year budget,” Superintendent Todd Carlson said.
He said the district had money tied up in debt retirement, and without an energy savings exemption or referendum, it didn’t have funding available to tackle the projects. These projects include replacement of a boiler installed in 1927 — 63 years past its useful life — and an air handling unit from 1961.
“It wasn’t that we didn’t know these things were out there and didn’t look at them, because we did,” Gerbers said. “It was just that we didn’t have the financial ability to do everything at once.”
He compared it to a “honey do” list at home that never gets done. The district never had the money to do everything on its wish list.
“There’s a lot of maintenance on a building this size,” he said.
According to figures presented at the meeting, the district spends $267,379 on energy-related expenses. After retrofit, the cost would decrease to $200,687, a savings of $66,692. The amount of savings — guaranteed by ESG every year for 10 years — would be put toward the repayment of the 10-year loan.
For a percentage of the project costs, ESG would provide quality control of all aspects of the project, guarantee the cost of and energy savings and take on the risk related to the project, said Josh Hounsell, ESG account executive.
ESG will only realize the savings if everything is done as promised, Gerbers said.
“We’re sort of buying a 10-year service contract on this as well,” he said.
According to a time line presented by Hounsell, if the project is approved, subcontractors would be selected in March, and work would begin in the spring. Lighting upgrades and other projects could be completed during the overnight hours during the school year, but large projects would wait until the school year ends in June.
Although skeptical during the meeting, Aguilera left the meeting convinced the improvements are needed.
“I think it’s a really good plan to get things fixed,” she said.
She said it was important to bring in more fresh air to the secondary school classrooms. Tests showed the poorest indoor air quality in five classrooms on the second floor of the high school. ESG representative Scott Jones said the 1961 ventilation system is old and obsolete, unable to meet the needs of the classrooms with its single, shoe-boxed sized vents.
“It’s not doing its job. It’s not ventilating the classrooms properly,” he said.
Residents who oppose the School Board’s resolution have 30 days in which to complete a petition drive to challenge the decision with a public vote.
Categories
