School Districts Budget Credits for Lenape Tech Roof Replacement

by Jonathan Weaver

Lenape Tech’s four participating school districts will give back to cover costs for this summer’s roof replacement.

Last month, Joint Operating Committee members from Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Freeport and Leechburg school districts agreed to waive audited district credits in favor of the roof replacement costs.

The four districts are owed nearly $440,000 in 2014-15 audited credits.

The roof replacement costs will appear in the 2016-17 budget as an expenditure, and the withheld credits will appear as budgeted receipts, decreasing each district’s annual contribution.

Solicitor Lee Price explained all four district approvals were necessary.

“Because the refunds are based on your agreement among the four member districts, if any districts (said) ‘I don’t want to do this,’ it doesn’t happen,” Price said. “But, it’s going to end up the same as I understand it – it’s going to be in the budget to come up with the money as opposed to getting a refund and then getting it back.”

Joint Operating Committee members from Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Freeport and Leechburg school districts have discussed the roof replacement for the carpentry wing for about a year.

Since then, estimated costs from Conklin Roofing Systems have risen from $324,000 to about $365,000 for the new roofs – but all products will be put out for public bid.

Before specifications are finalized, Facilities and Property Coordinator Curtis Fahlor will add some ideas he received through a second opinion – such as product to help snow melt faster.

In September, Fahlor assisted Alleghany Construction crews with a temporary 3,000 square foot patch repair and removing 10 truckloads of aggregate.
He was confident after testing the product.

“I went up there when it was really cold, and I’m glad the neighbors couldn’t see me because I jumped on that thing right in the middle. It withstood it – no cracks, no nothing,” Fahlor said. “And that was a patch – water froze around that, so if anything was getting underneath there, it was going to lift during the patch.

It didn’t. Everything’s solid, so I feel really comfortable about it.”

Fahlor also considered other rubber, pitch-style or liquid PVC systems before hearing about the current Conklin Roofing System proposal

Officials are also still finalizing how long they want the roof under warranty. An additional fee would be assessed for anything over 18 years. There is no annual maintenance included.

Fahlor also asked JOC members to consider budgeting for roof repairs to the school’s agricultural building – which is 31 years old.

He said Conklin will acid wash the agricultural building roof and re-tack it for an additional $13,750 – which Fahlor considered “very fair.”

Administrative Director Dawn Kocher-Taylor said school officials are treating the repairs seriously.

“We’re looking forward at the facility just like we are with the personnel, seeing what the short and long-term needs are,” Kocher-Taylor said.

The two flat roofs were last resurfaced 10 years ago, with a warranty that lasted seven years.

1 Comment

• 

  By lowfatlowcarbnosugarcheesecake, April 22, 2016 @ 11:00 AM

  The two flat roofs were last resurfaced 10 years ago, with a warranty that lasted seven years

  Okay so clearly they need, at the very least, the 10 year warranty and I would actually add 3 years to that… Those roofs lasted 7 years and here we are three years after the warranty having to pay big money to redo the whole thing. Let’s face it- three years isn’t a very long time!

  Anyone else notice how much Lenape Tech actually costs us?

Other Links to this Post

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.