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Weathersfield school board OKs standards for 2 building projects
By Mary Smith
MINERAL RIDGE
The Weathersfield Board of Education has approved the Ohio School Facilities Commission’s requirements for the Seaborn Elementary and high school renovations and addition projects.
The requirements are aimed at the contractors, the state and the district and are the first of several steps the OSFC requires to establish the scope of the $25.4 million project, its time line and requirements of pre-bidders, schools Superintendent Damon Dohar said.
The scope of the project will include ensuring any new construction or renovation makes the buildings Leader in Energy and Environmental Design silver-certified.
The requirementswill also require a proper amount of footage for a new building or renovation and the proper amount of space per student.
Dohar said this is one of many steps that will be required by the state for the project.
The district hopes to break ground in May or June 2013.
The OSFC’s portion of the project is $17.8 million, and the local share was increased from $6.9 million to $7.5 million, to include a “locally funded initiative” of $529,139 to build a second gym at the high school for use by the junior high.
Local funds include a 6.6-mill, 30-year bond issue to generate $9 million over 30 years and a 1-mill bond issue to be used as half a mill for maintenance over 30 years and the other half mill for permanent improvements, totaling $79,594 annually for 30 years.
In other business at its meeting Tuesday, the board approved refinancing at a lower interest rate a 1.6-mill bond for $2 million approved in 2001 for 28 years for work to refurbish the Seaborn Elementary media center. The current debt is $935,000 on the bond.
The refinancing from 5.25 percent to 3.05 percent will save the district an estimated $80,000 over 10 years. Dohar said