NEW CASTLE Shelter bid awarded

Arson destroyed the previous band shelter.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The New Castle High School band should soon again have shelter.
School board members awarded a $39,000 contract to Litton Industries of New Castle to build the band shelter and a $13,900 contract to BEAR of Pittsburgh for eight rows of aluminum bleachers.
Litton is not expected to charge the district for electrical work on the band shelter, school officials said.
The previous band shelter at Taggart Stadium was destroyed by arson in April 2001. Four juveniles were arrested and charged in juvenile court.
School officials said the new construction will be paid completely with the $53,000 insurance settlement they received from the blaze.
School board member Frank Bonfield questioned why the district did not have an open bidding process for the work. They apparently contacted contractors for bids, he said.
School solicitor Charles Sapienza said that any time insurance money is being used, they don't need to go through the formal bidding process.
Must be approved
The plans and contracts must be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education before work can begin.
School board members said they hope to have the new band shelter built before the first home football game this fall.
In other business, the school board approved a $3.5 million tax anticipation note from NatCity Capital Markets at a cost of 2.0842 percent interest. The loan, used to pay the district's bills until tax dollars start coming in, must be repaid within a year.