Brandon Twp.- School district officials will consider asking voters to approve a 1-mill sinking fund to pay for necessary repairs to infrastructure.
At a special meeting of the building and site committee, held prior to the Nov. 16 school board meeting, John Thompson, contracted operations director for the district, discussed a list he created of necessary projects in the district, with an estimated total cost of $4,684,000. A majority of the financial burden is expected to come from repair or replacement of the wastewater treatment plant servicing the high school and middle school, expected to cost roughly $3 million.
‘There is a lot of talking we have to do about how to structure it, but a 1-mill sinking fund for 10 years is probably our only route,? said Jan Meek, executive director of business services.
‘This is flat-out reality,? said Superintendent Matt Outlaw. ‘There is no way we can save that money.? The district has been put on notice by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that they will need to replace their wastewater treatment system by 2019. The board budgeted $200,000 last year toward future replacement costs and matched that amount in this year’s budget, even with a continued decline in enrollment and revenue. However, the district will still fall far short of what is needed for replacement and the pressure has increased after voters soundly defeated a bond proposal for sewers in the village earlier this month. District administrators had hoped the measure would pass, decreasing their financial costs.
Instead, Outlaw, Meek, Thompson and the school board are awaiting results from a geo-tech firm, water experts that have been conducting hydrogeological studies on school property.
Fishbeck, Carr, Huber and Thompson will advise the district in a report to be released next month on how to proceed with a wastewater treatment system at the high school and middle school.
The school district is also facing a wastewater treatment plant replacement at Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School next summer, with an estimated price tag of $300,000.
Bleachers throughout the district will also have to be repaired next year, and American Athletix gave a 2014 quote of $50,000 for completion of the work. Sidewalk safety is another immediate concern. While weather will require a temporary fix this winter, officials are looking at a cost of $50,000 for sidewalk replacement next spring.
Other projects that need attention on Thompson’s list include pool/roof dehumidification at an estimated $405,000, a lower cost than initial estimates of $1 million to replace the roof; a new cooling tower at the middle school, $40,000; vehicle replacement, $64,000; HVAC preventive maintenance, $25,000; pool mechanical (valve replacement), $50,000; repairs to the high school gym restrooms, $10,000; repairs to the Oakwood Elementary drive, $90,000; and remodeling of two intermediate school restrooms to bring them up to code, which could cost up to $240,000. Additionally, Thompson notes that the high school roof is 30-years-old and the district should begin planning for the $400,000 cost of replacing it in about five years.
Also on the list was a cost of $200,000 for the demolition of Belle Ann Elementary, although Outlaw stressed no decisions have been made regarding that school building.
He added that a sinking fund millage could definitely include things not on Thompson’s list, but the public would be given specifics before the district ever came to voters with a request.
‘The board of education has not had a chance to discuss this topic and they are in charge,? he said. ‘Conversations with the board will take place over the next couple months.?