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Mount Greylock Regional Seeking Funds for RepairsBy Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
02:57PM / Wednesday, July 29, 2009
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Insurance won't cover all the repairs needed in the girls and boys locker rooms at Mount Greylock Regional High School after a ceiling collapse in May.
Andrew Hogeland, a member of the school's building committee, told the Selectmen on Monday night that school district is seeking funding from the state School Building Authority to replace the ceilings in both locker rooms. The insurance will apparently only cover the actual collapsed ceiling in the girls' locker room.
"The total bill will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and the insurance portion is a fraction of that," he said, which prompted the district to turn to the SBA.
"We're trying to get them to come to a decision on funding the project," he said, and that representatives from the agency are planning a site visit "soon."
A report on the ceilings in the 1968 addition by Barry Architects found too short nails, time and moisture played a role in the collapse; further investigation found similar conditions in other sections of the locker rooms, including the showers.
The costs are estimated at more than $250,000. The district is preparing requests for proposals for design work but nothing will be completed by the beginning of the school year. There are interim plans for spaces for changing but no showers.
The school has also been seeking SBA funding to replace its three boilers that are more than 40 years old, one of which is no longer functioning. The district is creating a request for proposals that will look at the entire system - not just the boilers - that might be fundable through grants under the state's Green Communities Act.
The school district may have to bond the projects, he cautioned.
Hogeland said an energy audit by the state last year suggest that solar panels placed on the roof could generate 300 to 400 kilowatts, enough the to cover the school's electrical needs. However, the cost would be $2 million to $3 million and the roof - built to 1960s code - couldn't handle the weight.
He said the school district is exploring if it would be feasible for private power developer to install and operate a ground-based system and offer a reduced rate of power to the school.
While the solar is a possibility, the boilers and locker rooms are a necessity. "it is beyond the immediate budget of the high school," Hogeland said. "There will be some need for the school district to raise money through bonding ... we don't know how much yet."
The district is still waiting word from the SBA on its statement of interest submitted more than two years ago for renovating or constructing a new school building. The letter was "refreshed" last fall. Hogeland said that besides the ceilings, the district is trying to fund "discrete" elements, like the boilers, that can be removed to a new structure.
"We're trying to do interim fixes that are portable," he said, but "we're waiting in a line of unknown length." |
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