Chester Community Unit School District 139 Board Facility Committee met Dec. 11.
Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:
The Facility Committee of the Chester Community Unit School District No.139 Board of Education met in the Chester School
District Superintendent’s Office at 11:00 a.m. on December 15, 2017.
Discussion held on the following:
High School:
o Mr. Pasero presented information and options the board may want to think about with regards to the 1925 building.
We are currently on the 2004 Construction Grant waiting list at approximately $2.29 million ($762,000 district share w/ referendum). This list is suspended until further notice. Note: The GS grant (2014) was for a total of $5.87 million. Mr. Pasero also mentioned that Crab Orchard had recently tore down a three story building and replaced it with a one story building at a cost of $6,000,000.
Factors Considered in state grant: Natural Disasters, Overcrowding, School Dist. Reorganization (Consolidation), severe and continuing HLS hazards and other unique issues.
Mr. Pasero reasoned that the age of the building is likely why we’re on the list.
Natural Disaster: Mr. Pasero commented that his understanding is that this is how the GS grant was pushed forward.
Overcrowding: Mr. Pasero didn’t believe we were at this point.
Consolidation: Mr. Pasero stated that he understood districts are generally resistant to this idea. Mr. Pasero thought Chester would not be that interested at this time and doubts Steeleville, our closest neighbor, has interest. Mr. Pasero mentioned, in an informal discussion with Mrs. Mulholland, she expressed that there has not been any interest anytime it has been brought up with their board. Chester is already on the list, and there is no reason to believe that it would move us forward or make more funds available. Mr. Pasero did not see the harm in having these discussions.
Severe and continuing HLS hazards: Mr. Pasero did not think we were at this point, but understands the potential that comes with a building that is quickly reaching 100 yrs.
Special Legislation passed to increase our bonded debt limit for the amount of the proposed project. + Referendum.
Renovation: Mr. Pasero mentioned some districts that have renovated old buildings to save over the cost of new. It may be worth visiting a school that has done this.
Paint: Mr. Pasero had this request already to give the building a better look for our students and visitors.
Newly purchased land
This might be an option for a new school altogether but would be at a higher cost than the funds currently available to us through our sales tax fund and our ability to bond.
Grade School
o In general, the building seems to be in good shape:
o HVAC units: We do a fair amount of work on these to keep them going. Replacing them is costly but something to think about. Mr. Pasero stated that he has had some conversation with Baysinger and they were working on a quote to replace 2-3 units at a time.
o Mr. Pasero mentioned that the landscaping suggested earlier, for the front of the building, is scheduled for this coming Christmas break. Mr. Pasero was going to check to see if the water drainage in this area could also be addressed.
County Facility Tax
We collect approximately $640,000 and ended with a surplus of approximately $150,000. Currently FY17 = $1.4 million
Mr. Colvis suggested having Baysinger inspect the ‘25 edition of the high school and look for a previous report they believe was done fairly recently giving the district a report on the overall condition of the building. This would allow us to come up with a facility plan moving forward.
Mr. Vasquez asked if some of the sales tax money could be used to pay our bonds off early. Mr. Pasero responded that he would need to re-examine their call dates to see if this were possible.
In discussion of general upkeep of the buildings, Mr. Vasquez suggested using the facilities money to save us from using money out of the building fund (referencing the districts most recent AFR). Mr. Pasero responded that this has been his practice this year.
Motion was made by Mr. Colvis and seconded by Mr. Vasquez to adjourn the committee meeting at 11:27 a.m.
http://www.chester139.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_105222/File/December%2015,%202017%20Facility%20Committee%20Mtg%20Minutes.pdf
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