Fillmore Central School Board: High school repairs cost more than expected

By News Team
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Fri, Aug 25th, 2006
Posted in Education

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Fillmore Central Superintendent Myrna Luehmann gave the school board an update on the tuck pointing project at the high school during the regular board meeting Tuesday evening, August 22. Damage estimates indicated that the work would be more extensive than originally thought.

An estimate by Inspec, an engineering consulting firm, came in a lot higher than was first expected, and the board agreed to get a second opinion. Luehmann had the consulting firm Roofspec look at the damage and give their estimate. The area that needs work done is the area above the second floor windows in the old part of the high school building.

"There are basically two options," explained Luehmann. "We could do the masonry and tuck pointing to the area, to restore what's there and fix the existing area. They could also put a metal paneling to cover the area."

According to Luehmann, the masonry option was going to cost around $268,000, while the paneling option would be $225,000.

Roofspec also recommended that the district do immediate work inspecting and stabilizing lintels to ensure that the brick facing is secure. They estimate this cost at $25,000. The board approved going ahead with that repair immediately for safety reasons.

The Roofspec estimate for the entire project was considerably less than the first estimate given by Inspec, which was in the $400,000-500,000.

Community Liaison

At a previous meeting, the board had discussed the possibility of hiring somebody to do community relations work for the district. Luehmann came up with a tentative job description for the position, which would be known as the Community Liaison. The board approved advertising for the part-time position.The person would be responsible for seeking out people coming into the community and giving information about the educational opportunities in the district. The candidate would need to know the district and the community well, and be flexible and self-motivated. The board members agreed that if such a person could bring just a few kids to the district, it would be worth the cost.

Luehmann stated she would be advertising for the position locally, as someone familiar with the area and the school would be an ideal candidate. The liaison would work through the summer, as many people move into the community during the summer months.

Baseball Fields

Board member John Torgrimson updated the board on the renovation of the baseball fields. According to Torgrimson, the committee recently received a $10,000 grant from the Preston Area Community Foundation.They currently have $20,000 in pledges and/or cash, and are trying to raise a little more money. Torgrimson stated they are in the process of getting estimates on fencing, plumbing to bring water lines to the field in Preston, and landscaping.

"We're looking at September or October for construction starting," said Torgrimson. "Things are definitely moving ahead."

Other business

The board approved the following:

• The purchase of an Employee Dishonesty rider for the liability insurance to cover all employees that handle money, at a cost of $125 a year.

• Support staff and Community Education staff assignments for the 2006-2007 school year;

• The hiring of Heather Lange as the Football Cheerleader Advisor;

• The hiring of Tammy VanMoer as the seventh grade volleyball coach;

• Two open enrollment requests;

• The sports sharing agreement for wrestling with Mabel-Canton;

• The board also accepted the resignations of Diane Hedlund, ECFE Parent Educator and Doug Carlson as eighth grade volleyball coach.

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