Uniontown may move up renovation schedule
Uniontown Area High School may get an overhaul earlier than expected. Superintendent Charles Machesky recommended the school board take advantage of historically low interest rates and consider floating a bond issue now for an estimated $8.2 million to $10 million to completely renovate the school.
He told the school board Monday that the district’s bond counsel and investment banker will attend a special meeting next Tuesday that the board had previously scheduled for adoption of the 2003-2004 budget.
“The high school is next to be renovated and rates are the lowest in 50 years,” Machesky said.
The school board for several months has talked about making improvements in the pool area, where parents have raised concerns about certain conditions. They talked last month about the high school being in line for renovations in a couple of years and they considered doing the most pressing work needed to improve the pool area now and the bulk of the work in the overall project when it could be eligible for some state reimbursement.
Machesky said the thought was that Benjamin Franklin and Lafayette schools were the next in the cycle of districtwide building renovations, but the bond representatives said the high school is next in line according to the cycle of state reimbursable projects. He pointed out the school district would need to pay all of the cost of pool renovations if that work was separated from the other building renovations. He said it could cost as much as $1 million to complete the pool.
However, he said the bond representatives have estimated the school district could receive as much as 47 percent in state reimbursements for the overall project. He said the school board would be making a “responsible financial gesture” by linking all the work in one project at a time that they could take advantage of state money and low interest rates.
They talked last month about an estimated $136,000 worth of items, such as the heating and air-conditioning system, locker room plumbing, a diving board and stand, speaker system and a scoreboard and timing system that needed immediate attention at the pool. Director Dorothy Grahek, who heads the buildings and grounds committee, asked whether those items may still proceed with the smaller project outside of the overall renovations and Machesky said the bond representatives and architect could guide the board.
Board President Harry “Dutch” Kaufman said after the meeting that the board may or may not put a motion for a new bond issue on the agenda for action as soon as next week’s meeting.
However, he said he expects the board to move along with the project. He said the goal would be to proceed with the pool in the early stages of high school renovations and make the pool a state-of-the-art facility.
Buildings and grounds director Robert Smalley said the oldest part of the high school is about 90 years old. The building was last renovated in the early 1980s.
Among other matters, the school board gave the superintendent a $5,000 raise as he nears completion of his first year in that position.
Director William Rittenhouse Jr. made a motion to revise the superintendent’s salary to $95,000 a year based on a performance evaluation by the board.
The board hired Machesky last summer, effective July 1, to replace retiring superintendent Dr. Darrell Uphold. Machesky was working for the district as an administrator, overseeing special education.
“My initial year has been everything I hoped it would be and then some,” Machesky said, thanking the board for their continued support.
Kaufman said afterward that Machesky is doing a commendable job.
“The board is very pleased with his first year as superintendent and looking forward to many more,” he said.
Further, the school board approved a takeover agreement with North American Specialty Insurance Co. for completion of the construction project at Wharton School.
Solicitor Michael Brungo said the agreement was necessary since general contractor Davis and Sons defaulted on a $2.1 million contract with the district earlier this year. Brungo said the school board has worked out an agreement with the general contractors’ bonding company whereby the district will pay the bonding company for another contractor, Yarborough, to complete the work of the primary contract on the project. He said the work has progressed well with the new contractor and the other subcontractors. The overall $4.2 million project will expand and renovate Wharton School.
Also, the board accepted the retirements of Edith Sethman, librarian at Ben Franklin; Janet Clark, elementary teacher at Lafayette; and Craig Cheselske, elementary teacher at Marclay School. Director Ken Meadows recognized the retirees for their service and Machesky quoted 33 years for Sethman, 34 years for Clark and 28 years for Cheselske.
Director Tammy Boyle offered a clarification to an article published Monday in the Herald-Standard. The article concerned efforts to upgrade the baseball field at Bailey Park in Uniontown to make it the home field of the Red Raiders’ varsity baseball team.
Affiliated with the park’s recreation board, Boyle said the field project could cost about $300,000 to $350,000 and require matching funds of about $135,000 for a grant that supporters of the project are working to obtain.