I called Bob Ryan who is the person on the board who was most vocal about this topic last year and he gave me the following information:
Roof on Weber is slate, and is the original roof from when Weber was built in 1910.
Ten years ago engineering consultants gave a report that the roof needed to be replaced in 2 years.
5 years ago an engineering consulting firm stated it needs to replaced immediately.
So we still have the roof, and spend about 100k/yr right now, on maintenance but it still needs to be replaced.
Estimates came in from approx $2.7mm to $3.3mm or more to replace the roof depending on materials...but Bob and the board has no official preference on what materials to use.
this is process:
BOE decides whether or not we want to fix the roof.
if yes, BOE figures out how to pay for it...If BOE decides to float a bond, it is presented to people for a vote.
If voted YES, more detailed estimates are sought, type of roof materials details are decided and bids are solicited. Roof gets fixed.
right now we are at the point of the process where it think the BOE is deciding or maybe has decided that we want to fix the roof.
That's what's going on best i can tell.
Bob Ryan is happy to answer any questions or address any factual mistakes written here from my butchering of our conversation.
regarding the roof bond
ReplyDeleteMary Callahan knows all things about state mandated bid requirements.
Karen Sloan says lawyer checking into if we can outside contractors to do the work.
Mary C said to Karen S. that the $3mm estimate may include ALL costs like architect (7%) legal, bond fees, etc...
She is not sure if it is inclusive of these, but will get back to us on that.
Mary Callahan is expecting an email at mcallahan@portnet.k12-ny.us.
Is there anyone who feels comfortable working with Mary Callahan to make sure we're getting the best deal we can for the roof, and various other capital repairs? Please speak now...Glenn it is an honor to serve...and we would all owe you....
I think if we felt more confident that it was a reasonable deal, or as reasonable as we're gonna get, then I think we would all agree we need to fix the roof and we would be advocates in the community for it, and maybe we even vote on it early separate from the budget and just get 'er don. I digress.
Just to put it into perspective...the unfunded pension liability that we owe as a community is ....$65mm! that doesn't even come up in the annual budget talk! yee hah! raise taxes!
God bless us all , Everyone!
On Wed, Dec 14, 2011 at 6:06 AM, Skolnick, Glenn wrote:
Great showing last night guys. Thanks Vernon and Brad for putting it together. It was obvious the board was extremely impressed with our presence and what we had to say.
Quick suggestion that could save the district approx $500k (and MANY after school and regular school programs):
Regarding the slate roof (hopefully composite), why dont we consider getting our own private estimate? I believe the district must use a union?
However, at a minimum it lets the board know we are mindful of the spending and it could serve to police the other bidders. ...and perhaps down the road can be an example of the problem with only working with unions.
After the meeting, I spoke with the woman that came to the podium and mentioned she was a PW mom but also an engineer. For those of you that couldnt attend, she mentioned that she walked the schools and agrees undoubetedly that the roof at Weber had to be fixed.
HOWEVER, she is a professional that does this kind of work and noted that the estimates we had received were 30-40% higher than they should be.
I got her name and number and asked her if she would be willing to either help us find quotes or give us quotes. She said absolutely. Her husband is a retired engineer that has done a lot of work with schools and understands what goes on behind the curtain. He could also be a resource.
If the quotes are approximately $3M, a 30-40% delta is a huge number.
In terms of a bigger picture suggestion, I think all the dads agree that cutting operating costs is necessary but only a short term solution. As Vern mentioned last night, we need the teachers to throw water on the fire as well. To that end, why dont we offer a specific solution. Vern, perhaps a specific number, a specific give back figure? At least getting them to the table as a initial negotiating point.
Vern, if you want that engineer's'name and # let me know.