Uniontown board approves bond issue
Directors in the Uniontown Area School District approved an $11.9 million bond issue Monday that, according to the district’s investment bankers, will not have any impact on the millage rate. John McShane of Arthurs, Lestrange & Company Inc. outlined the $11,890,000 general obligation bond issue, the funds from which will be used for construction of a new Marclay School, renovation to Menallen School, a new roof for A.J. McMullen Middle School and other capital improvements.
Earlier this month, the board had considered a bond issue as high as $26 million, but directors pared that number back after consulting with district architect Mark Altman about how much could be spent within the three-year time limit required by the issue.
McShane said interest rates are at 40-year lows and directors were wise in taking advantage of those low rates to finance their second phase of work on district facilities.
“The rates just can’t get any lower than this, I don’t think,” he said.
He said the $26 million bond issue would have impacted the district’s tax rate by 4 mills, but the size of the issue approved will wrap into the current debt service and will not impact the millage rate.
When the time comes to approve the third phase of improvements, however, McShane warned that there will be a “large millage impact” required when the next bond issues will be authorized.
Directors voted 7-1 to approve the resolution that adopts the bond issue, which will close on Oct. 31. Director William Rittenhouse Jr. voted against the motion, saying after the meeting he disagreed with how the money from the bond issue will be allocated. Director Nancy Herring was absent from Monday’s special meeting.
Superintendent Chuck Machesky commended the board for taking the action, and said the schools that will benefit from the money have gone too long without renovation or proper attention. He said, within the next three years, the district will have completely renovated four elementary schools and updated one middle school.
“Our students are entitled to these types of facilities,” Machesky said. “I commend the board for their foresight and in making these projects come to fruition.”
After the bond issue was approved, directors asked Altman about a timetable for completing the projects that are slated for the $11.9 million. He said construction of a new Marclay School will not be affected by the academic calendar because students can stay in the present facility while the new school is being built, and plans call for the roof replacement at A.J. McMullen to occur next summer.
The problem, he said, will be renovations to Menallen School.
With 450 students and no extra space, Altman said completing the projects required at the school will be tough without the use of modular classrooms or another “innovative solution.” Directors said modular classrooms in place at Wharton School could be moved after renovations are completed there, but modulars won’t totally solve the space problems that students, faculty and staff will face once construction begins.
“Once we get into planning, we will look at construction phasing and see what needs vacating in order to accomplish everything,” he said.
Altman said bids for the Menallen renovation could be awarded next fall, while Marclay bids may not be awarded until some time later. He said a site survey at Marclay is still needed and issues about sewage lines are still in need of clarification, but said a survey could be completed as early as January.
Directors voted to allow Altman and the administration to solicit proposals for site surveys and soil borings for Marclay and Menallen.
Meanwhile, plans to award bids for renovations at Wharton School were delayed at least two weeks, after directors decided to postpone awarding them until after the district has been approved for PlanCon (Planning and Construction) F by the state Department of Education. Director Dorothy Grahek said approval from the state could come as early as Oct. 14, the date of the board’s next worksession.
Directors also approved water use agreements with the National Pike Water Authority for water service at A.J. McMullen and Marclay. A four-inch tap is projected for A.J. McMullen at a cost of $6,000 with a $400 monthly bill, while a three-inch tap worth $5,000 and monthly rates of $240 are projected for Marclay.
Finally, directors voted to hire John Coleman as a part-time security officer at $8 an hour and voted to hire Laurie A. Gallo as assistant girls soccer coach at the high school at a salary of $847.