BY BERNIE HORNICK
The Tribune-Democrat
PORTAGE
June 13, 2009 11:53 pm
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School districts from Portage to Somerset are finding in this economy that – if you’ve got the money – it’s a terrific time to order needed construction projects.
Districts are saving hundreds of thousands of dollars as summer construction enters high gear.
This season is not as busy as in recent years, when tens of millions of dollars were pumped into constructing a new Richland High School and in massive renovations in the Somerset Area School District.
Portage Area, for example, is spending nearly $244,000 on three high school jobs: Replacing gym bleachers, $64,500; 800 new auditorium seats, $111,000, and upgrading security, $68,000.
“I never thought that bleacher project would come in under $100,000,” Portage Superintendent Rich Bernazzoli said. “I was happy.”
He credits the tough economy for landing better-than-expected prices from contractors.
“It could be the bidding climate is very competitive,” he said. “They’re just looking for work. You might be getting rock-bottom prices.”
The work needs done: The bleachers and seating are original from when the school was built in 1959.
“But you can’t put a price on security,” Bernazzoli said. The security upgrades will include a “door-enunciator system,” which lets the main office know which doors are open.
A smattering of other school projects are in the works. They include:
Greater Johnstown
A facelift at Garfield Middle School is costing $841,000.
The job is completing a general cleanup of the exterior that was done last summer.
“It’s just basically a refacing of the building,” said business manager Tom Kalinyak, “making sure the building is safe. The building is quite old.”
The Pittsburgh contractor, R.G. Friday, will improve exterior statuary along with molding and mortar work. Friday also worked on the school last summer.
Somerset Area
The district will spend $2.2 million from its capital reserves to continue work in its long-range plan. The jobs are generally expected to be finished by the start of the school year, and no tax increase was needed.
“It’s a buyer’s market,” said Director of Finance Rich Whipkey. “They needed the work. We had the cash not earning a lot of money. It came in well under what we expected ($2.6 million).”
The work includes:
n At Eagle View Elementary, repointing the brickwork and putting sealer on the exterior, replacing carpet and adding an exhaust system to keep the building cool in warmer months. Its sister building, Maple Ridge Elementary, will get paint and floor treatments.
n Replacing lockers and modernizing the toilet and shower areas at the pool. “The pool gets very heavy community use,” Whipkey said.
n Outside, replacing sidewalks by the football stadium, refurbishing tennis courts and renovating baseball and softball fields.
Work on the Friedens and Sipesville schools is planned in the years ahead.
“We feel like we are really taking care of our investments,” Whipkey said, “doing the prudent things like you would do to your home to reduce your long-term costs.”
Bishop McCort
The long-awaited groundbreaking for the $2.5 million Bach Wellness Center is scheduled for Friday.
The 14,400-square-foot addition is largely coming to fruition due to a $1.2 million donation from Dr. Thomas R. and Eileen Bach. About $400,000 in further donations also have been raised to date. All the work will be paid for through private contributions.
The work includes an auxiliary gym, a 3,500-square-foot fitness room, a new courtyard, a brick patio for student activities and a grotto.
“We’re excited about this because it’s the first new construction on campus since 1962,” said Principal Ken Salem.
“We also are renovating existing boys and girls locker rooms instead of building new locker rooms.”
Salem expects to have the project paid in full over the next few years. The center will be finished as soon as April or as late as summer 2010.
Yet the work doesn’t stop there.
“It’s going to be a very busy summer,” Salem said, citing two further jobs at the high school:
n A complete renovation of the science department, costing more than $250,000. Salem said the chemistry and biology labs will be completely retrofitted with new lab fixtures, ceilings, electronic lighting and enhanced computer capabilities.
All eight science classrooms will have smartboards and LCD projectors.
Salem said the donations did not take away from money for the wellness center: “We have different alums with different areas of interest.”
n Replacing another bank of windows on the original building, built in 1922, with more energy efficient materials. The work will cost $60,000.
Central Cambria
All three sets of restrooms at Jackson Elementary are being redone this summer.
School Superintendent Susan Makosy said the job will cost about $150,000. Further work to that school is expected next year, though she said the school board has yet to decide its scope.
Makosy said the district is continuing a conversation with the state to replace the aging middle school with a new structure adjacent to the high school.
The district expects to put the project out to bid by Dec. 2.
She hesitates to put a cost estimate on the work, considering the relative bargains being found. “That’s part of the reason we want to keep moving, to get the most bang for our buck,” she said.
Makosy expects the middle-school project to stay on track even though some members of the school board may be replaced in elections this year.
“We put so much time and energy into the middle-school project,” she said. “Even though there may be new faces at the table, we believe the board’s desire to provide quality education will remain constant.”
Conemaugh Township Area
The district is awaiting approval of recommendations from a facility study, which could happen by July.
Superintendent Joseph DiBartola said the wish list – about $40 million worth – exceeds the capital budget of $25 million.
The district is asking its architects to prioritize ideas that have been gathered from the district and community.
Ideas range from constructing a new field house and a food court to new elementary classrooms and air conditioning the schools.
“We don’t want this to be the DiBartola plan, or the school board plan,” the superintendent said. “We want it to be the stakeholders’ plan.”
Work would start next summer.
One option that is gaining traction is making the intermediate school, now grades 3 to 6, into a K-6 facility.
Westmont Hilltop
The Hilltoppers don’t have any big construction plans this year. Soon they might.
Superintendent Susan Anderson said the Kimball engineering firm has been hired for $15,000 to do a long-range feasibility study.
“It’s for emphasizing energy efficiency, heating and ventilation, electrical systems – and kind of a global plan for future facilities with a five-year focus,” she said. “I’m excited about the new green options, the geothermal potentials.”
She said the middle school – the oldest building – is the starting point.
“We don’t have a well-defined goal yet. We need the experts to help us with that goal,” Anderson said.
“We anticipate that they will not rule out any options, including upgrading and/or the potential of new construction.”
Other
At Johnstown Christian School in Hollsopple, Administrator Kathy Keafer said work is about to start on refurbishing part of the high school wing.
“It’s cosmetic at this point,” she said, though the work still amounts to $30,000 in donated funds.
Included will be improving the computer network, installing ceiling-mounted projectors and improving security.
The work is expected to be wrapped up by early August.
At Penn Cambria High School, workers are replacing the roof on the auditorium for $150,000. A wind gust blew off a piece of the roof in 2008, and now permanent repairs are in order.
Superintendent Mary Beth Whited said that – within three years – the district will spend more than $600,000 on various roofing jobs.
Also, Northern Bedford is replacing a boiler for energy efficiency and Ligonier Valley will spend $395,000 for a new roof on R.K. Mellon Elementary.
Coming Monday: Conemaugh Township Area Schools poised to move forward with a two-school plan: A K-6 and the junior/senior high school.
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