Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Replacing the school building’s 60-year-old boilers is officially the top priority for the NR-S Building Committee. Chaired by elementary teacher Laura Hager, the committee met Wednesday to review three main projects and prioritize them for attention and funding.
Superintendent Jill Louters reviewed an engineering services agreement from Randy Axvig of Prairie Engineering. Axvig proposed to identify the scope of the boiler replacement project and develop bid specifications for under $1,000.
The upfront cost of new boilers is estimated at $400,000-$500,000, per a preliminary quote from Johnson Controls. Louters said that it is a possibility that at least one of the boilers could be installed before the winter season, should they commit to move forward. The work can be completed when students are present, so the installation could occur in the fall if necessary.
Deferred roof maintenance was also on the docket. Head custodian Ryan Jacobson reported that A & R Roofing had been on site recently. They fixed the roof where it was leaking by the kitchen, and also assessed the flat portion from the main fire doors to the office. The estimated cost of installing new rubber roofing on that section is $145,000. It is the next area of need per the facility plan, and is twice the square footage of the roof area that was replaced in 2020.
“It isn’t too terribly bad, but it has its spots,” Ryan Jacobson said, when asked what representatives from A & R Roofing said about the roof’s overall condition. “I think it would be something we could wait on.”
A third project up for consideration is bus storage. Louters said she has a lead on a potential storage location they could lease for the district-owned buses which would be available by Oct. 1. However, the storage facility is not in New Rockford. The district has an official request for proposals on page B1, and anyone interested in leasing space to the district for covered bus storage should contact Louters at (701) 947-5036.
Discussion ensued regarding the construction of bus storage on district-owned property, and committee members agreed that given the volatile cost of materials, it is not the appropriate time to build.
“I don’t think we should lose sight of the prize (the boiler),” board member Mike Jacobson said, suggesting that the roof could be patched as needed to get by, in order to shift funds to the boiler. They do need to replace missing shingles on the corner by the front office door, which Louters said was noted by all the engineers they had interviewed for the second gym project.
The balance in the building fund totals $425,876, not enough to complete more than one of the projects. However, Louters shared information about a third round of coronavirus relief funds that was just announced last week. The ESSER III (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) funding is part of the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in March. New Rockford-Sheyenne’s allocation is $565,778, per the N.D. Department of Public Instruction’s website. The school must complete an application, and Louters said the district has until 2024 to spend the money. Administrators have not been briefed on what the eligible uses of funds are, but Louters said that brick and mortar has been discussed as a need statewide. It is possible that at least a portion of the funds could be indirectly used for capital projects.
Hager questioned whether it was possible to both replace the roof and install new boilers, should capital projects be considered an eligible use of ESSER funds. “I don’t want to get behind on roofs,” Hager said, acknowledging that she agreed the boiler should be the higher priority.
“We need to understand what the boiler is going to cost,” Mike Jacobson said, adding that the bids could come in higher than anticipated.
The committee members reached consensus that the boiler should remain the highest priority, and unanimously agreed to engage Prairie Engineering to develop the scope of work and bid specifications for the project.
