CITY SCHOOL BOARD CONSIDERING $49M IN SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
Eyana Adah McMillan and Carl Lindquist
York Dispatch Staff Writers
April 2007
The York City school board unanimously decided last night to demolish the existing building that houses Arthur W. Ferguson Elementary and build a new school on the same site.
City school board considering $49M in school construction
The board also decided to allow negotiations to acquire a building for the district's administration.
And the board voted to hire Harrisburg-based EI Associates to work on the architectural details of proposed building projects that include construction of a new Ferguson Elementary School and the renovations of Jackson, Phineas Davis and McKinley elementary schools.
The total cost of the all the work could reach about $49 million, which includes $18 million-$20 million for the new Ferguson Elementary school and more than $20 million in renovations, said school board president Jeff Kirkland.
The cost of the new home for district administration, including the building and renovation costs, is expected to hit about $3 million, Kirkland said. The board has yet to decide exactly how it wants to proceed on the Jackson and McKinley renovations, Kirkland said.
The size of the new Ferguson Elementary school is not yet set in stone either, he said. One option includes building a school that would hold 750 students, he said, or about 275 more than the school currently accommodates. Decisions could significantly affect the overall project costs, he said.
EI Associates has been working with the district for more than a year, completing a feasibility study of the district's buildings at no cost to the district.
The firm's fee for their architectural work will be negotiated.
The 750-student Ferguson plan calls for a new 85,150-square-foot structure, costing $20.4 million, with a state reimbursement of $5.9 million. Construction could be done by the summer of 2009.
A three-story school: The old school would be demolished and a new school built in three phases, according to Kirkland.
District Superintendent Tresa Diggs has said the building project would allow the district to move 100 children from Devers and Goode elementary schools to Ferguson.
Some classrooms in both schools are overcrowded, Kirkland said.
Ferguson Elementary, a one-story building constructed in the 1950s, would be replaced with a three-story facility. The current building does not meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, has no insulation in the walls or ceiling and has an inadequate heating system.
If approved, the $49 million in construction and renovation plans will mean an extra cost to taxpayers. Kirkland said a 1.7 mill tax increase would be incrementally implemented over three years.
Property owners with homes assessed at $50,000 would pay $85 more in taxes.
Administration building: The board also voted to enter negotiations to acquire property at 31 N. Pine St. for its new administration building location. The property -- owned by Alvin and Donna Hayes -- is the former GTE Building, said Tom Foust, the board's vice president.
The asking price is $930,000, he said.
Renovations to the building would bring the total cost of the new administration building to about $3 million, Kirkland said.
Because district solicitor Gregory Gettle also represents Alvin and Donna Hayes, the board voted to approve a conflict of interest waiver, which authorizes Gettle to continue representing both parties in the issue.
The building was built in the mid-1970s and was last used by Mercury Electronics, Foust said.
"This (building) is at a very good location," Foust said. "There's parking. The building has up-to-date heating and air conditioning, elevators, office spaces."
However, renovation is necessary to make the structure compatible with the district's needs, he said. The district could get between $200,000 to $300,000 in state reimbursement, Foust said.
"We can probably renovate it this year and have it occupied by the end of this year or early next year," he said. "This (vote) is the first step to authorize acquisition and renovation of the building. We're trying to fast track this project."
The district's 120-year-old Lindbergh Avenue administration building was evacuated last year because of structural concerns. The administration set up offices in the lower level of William Penn Senior High School.
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Eyana Adah McMillan and Carl Lindquist
York Dispatch Staff Writers
April 2007
The York City school board unanimously decided last night to demolish the existing building that houses Arthur W. Ferguson Elementary and build a new school on the same site.
City school board considering $49M in school construction
The board also decided to allow negotiations to acquire a building for the district's administration.
And the board voted to hire Harrisburg-based EI Associates to work on the architectural details of proposed building projects that include construction of a new Ferguson Elementary School and the renovations of Jackson, Phineas Davis and McKinley elementary schools.
The total cost of the all the work could reach about $49 million, which includes $18 million-$20 million for the new Ferguson Elementary school and more than $20 million in renovations, said school board president Jeff Kirkland.
The cost of the new home for district administration, including the building and renovation costs, is expected to hit about $3 million, Kirkland said. The board has yet to decide exactly how it wants to proceed on the Jackson and McKinley renovations, Kirkland said.
The size of the new Ferguson Elementary school is not yet set in stone either, he said. One option includes building a school that would hold 750 students, he said, or about 275 more than the school currently accommodates. Decisions could significantly affect the overall project costs, he said.
EI Associates has been working with the district for more than a year, completing a feasibility study of the district's buildings at no cost to the district.
The firm's fee for their architectural work will be negotiated.
The 750-student Ferguson plan calls for a new 85,150-square-foot structure, costing $20.4 million, with a state reimbursement of $5.9 million. Construction could be done by the summer of 2009.
A three-story school: The old school would be demolished and a new school built in three phases, according to Kirkland.
District Superintendent Tresa Diggs has said the building project would allow the district to move 100 children from Devers and Goode elementary schools to Ferguson.
Some classrooms in both schools are overcrowded, Kirkland said.
Ferguson Elementary, a one-story building constructed in the 1950s, would be replaced with a three-story facility. The current building does not meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, has no insulation in the walls or ceiling and has an inadequate heating system.
If approved, the $49 million in construction and renovation plans will mean an extra cost to taxpayers. Kirkland said a 1.7 mill tax increase would be incrementally implemented over three years.
Property owners with homes assessed at $50,000 would pay $85 more in taxes.
Administration building: The board also voted to enter negotiations to acquire property at 31 N. Pine St. for its new administration building location. The property -- owned by Alvin and Donna Hayes -- is the former GTE Building, said Tom Foust, the board's vice president.
The asking price is $930,000, he said.
Renovations to the building would bring the total cost of the new administration building to about $3 million, Kirkland said.
Because district solicitor Gregory Gettle also represents Alvin and Donna Hayes, the board voted to approve a conflict of interest waiver, which authorizes Gettle to continue representing both parties in the issue.
The building was built in the mid-1970s and was last used by Mercury Electronics, Foust said.
"This (building) is at a very good location," Foust said. "There's parking. The building has up-to-date heating and air conditioning, elevators, office spaces."
However, renovation is necessary to make the structure compatible with the district's needs, he said. The district could get between $200,000 to $300,000 in state reimbursement, Foust said.
"We can probably renovate it this year and have it occupied by the end of this year or early next year," he said. "This (vote) is the first step to authorize acquisition and renovation of the building. We're trying to fast track this project."
The district's 120-year-old Lindbergh Avenue administration building was evacuated last year because of structural concerns. The administration set up offices in the lower level of William Penn Senior High School.
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