Carmichaels board approves water line project
CARMICHAELS – Directors in the Carmichaels Area School District voted Tuesday to approve a proposal to replace a water line that will require the excavation of the district’s football field this winter. Cumberland Township supervisors Leroy Baker and Bill Groves approached the board about the water line project, which will replace the current 24-inch terra cotta pipe with a 36-inch plastic pipe. The project will replace the line from George Street through Greene Street and through a manhole in the football field.
Groves asked the school board to pay for half of the pipe required for the replacement, and he estimated the district’s share to be $8,000 to $13,000.
“We have to pipe the whole thing, because the other alternative is an open ditch,” he said. “It’s better for you to go in half with us or do your own in another year or two, but we’ve got to go through there with this pipe.”
Along with the current 24-inch pipe under the football field, additional drainage is in place, and exploratory work must be conducted to determine if any of those drain pipes feed into the larger line scheduled for replacement, according to Lou May, maintenance supervisor.
May said the project would tear up much of the football field, but he recommended that the board act sooner rather than later so the work can be done with enough time to restore the field to proper condition for the start of next year’s football season.
The supervisors already have solicited bids and will open them in January to start the project. They will report back to the school board next month after a contractor has been selected.
The board voted 8-0 to support the water line project. Director Ron Ferek was absent Tuesday.
The board also discussed the status of basic education subsidy, now that the district has entered its fifth month without state funding. Last month, the board approved a motion to start the process of borrowing against district revenue if state lawmakers do not reach an agreement on funding and the district has depleted all of its resources.
The board questioned if the state, after the education budget is passed, will reimburse the funds used to develop the loan and the interest paid on the loan. Superintendent James Zalar said he spoke with officials in the office of state Rep. H. William DeWeese (D-Waynesburg), who said a bill already has passed the House that calls for the reimbursement of all costs paid by districts while they are without subsidy.
“They are optimistic that there will be a budget before their Christmas break, but it’s just an opinion,” Zalar said.
In another matter, the board clarified a motion from last month’s meeting concerning the auditorium. Zalar and May both asked for more information based on the board’s decision to solicit quotes on the purchase and installation of carpet, new seating and acoustic tiles in the Stan Ferek III Auditorium.
Zalar presented an architect’s feasibility study first given to the board in August 2002 about the costs of each component of the auditorium, including $107,000 for seats, $15,000 for acoustic panels and $15,000 for carpeting.
May said he wanted more specific information about what he was to seek information about, and he said he will have those figures in time for the board’s Jan. 15 meeting.
Director Michael Conte reiterated his concern about the auditorium project, saying that more than $800,000 in the district’s capital improvement fund should be spent on work that will benefit the district as a whole for decades.
“This building will be eligible for reimbursement soon, so we should do it then,” Conte said. “We have no grand plan for this money, and if we piecemeal it, it’s going to be gone in no time.”
In unrelated business, the board held its annual reorganization meeting before the regular session, electing J.L. Lechner as board president and Robert O. Hathaway as vice president. Incumbent directors Conte, Ken Ganocy and Jerry Simkovic were sworn in to office, as were new directors Melodie Berardi and Edmond F. McIntire Jr.
Upon taking over as president, Lechner said that the “10-minute” rule that had not been adhered to by previous board presidents will be strictly followed.
“All speakers will have 10 minutes and 10 minutes only,” he said.
The directors voted to consolidate their committee meeting and regular meeting on one night for 2004: the third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. in the high school resource room.