The Pottsville Area school board announced Wednesday it will take a loan to do more than $1 million in improvements to its facilities over the summer.
Honeywell, a technology manufacturer the district hired to help it manage its energy efficiency, will be upgrading air conditioning, boilers and temperature gauges, Kerry L. Ansbach, the district's facilities and transportation director, said after the board's regular meeting at the Howard S. Fernsler Academic Center.
"This is a performance contract. So Honeywell is guaranteeing that the savings we will realize from the upgrades will be in excess of the expenditures that we have to make," Richard A. Thornburg, the board solicitor, said.
The matter came up at the board's regular meeting when Thornburg gave his report. He asked the board to approve three resolutions, which were not on the printed agenda handed out to the public. The board approved all three.
First, Thornburg said: "I'd like the board to approve a resolution authorizing a lease-purchase agreement with Bank of America to move forward on the Honeywell project."
"This is just the resolution authorizing us to go forward and sign the contract. Kerry would be able to give you the specifics. It's heating, electrical, things like that. It's not in here specifically," Thornburg said after the meeting, explaining his motion.
The school board will be signing documents to borrow $1 million from Bank of America and refinance $2.1 million in loans by moving the funds from Citicorp to Bank of America. That's debt from past Honeywell projects, Thornburg said.
"We got a lower interest rate. Kerry, you know the rate," David J. Delenick, district business manager, said after the meeting.
"We were currently paying almost 5 percent. It was 4.6 or 4.7. And I think with Bank of America, it will be 2.25," Ansbach said.
Ansbach and Thornburg did not have a punch list of the $1 million in improvements Honeywell will do at the district this summer.
"It's a total not to exceed $3.1 million. That's refinancing and everything. It's going to be paid over 10 years," Thornburg said.
"It will be coming out of the general fund," Delenick said.
Ansbach offered highlights of the upcoming improvements.
"Everything that we targeted has been here for 40 years," Ansbach said.
There will be upgrades to the air conditioning system at D.H.H. Lengel Middle School and the replacement of a 100-horsepower boiler at John S. Clarke Elementary Center.
"It's a 40-year old boiler. We're going to replace it with two 50-horsepower boilers," Delenick said.
Honeywell will improve the Digital Direct Control thermostat system for all the buildings on campus, he said.
"We don't have thermostats. We have sensors. And the whole district will have a set point of 72 degrees," Delenick said.
The two other motions Thornburg asked the board to approve were:
- "I'd like a motion to approve a resolution for us to enter into a joint-purchasing agreement to move forward on the purchase of the band uniforms," Thornburg said.
Last week, Craig N. Shoener, the band director, said the district is planning to buy 140 uniforms for members of the Pottsville Area Crimson Tide Band, 45 uniforms for honor guard and color guard, 25 uniforms for majorettes and 200 raincoats.
The district is planning to buy the uniforms from Stanbury: The Final Touch Accessory Co., West Chester, Shoener said.
"They said it would cost approximately $80,000," Delenick said.
- "Third, I'd like a motion for a resolution authorizing Mr. Ansbach to move forward with the purchase of materials for the Martz Hall roof repair," Thornburg said.
Shortly after school is out for the summer, U.S. Roofing Corp. will start a $220,000 job to repair part of the roof, Ansbach said.
"It's repairs to the copper roof at Martz Hall. It's more than patching. Every seam is going to be addressed," Ansbach said.
It will stop a leak into a second floor stairwell at D.H.H. Lengel Middle School leading to Martz Hall. "It's been a problem for two years," Ansbach said.
Before the regular meeting Wednesday, the school board's Finance Committee met with Dianne E. Dougherty, district technology director, and Ansbach to discuss the proposed 2013-14 budgets for their departments.
Dougherty said by cutting out $50,000 in extended warranties for Dell-brand computers the district bought in 2006 and 2007, she was able to bring in her budget to where it was for 2012-13, about $503,000.
"Instead of spending all of that money, we decided to just purchase and repair as needed," Dougherty said.
In the 2012-13 budget, the facilities budget was $454,390, Ansbach said. He estimated the 2013-14 budget would be "between $500,000 and $600,000," but didn't have a more specific figure Wednesday night.