The USD 417 Board of Education approved a roof replacement contract and related financing agreement during a special meeting held Tuesday, May 26.
The meeting was Jessica Rohloff’s first meeting as a BOE member from District 2. BOE member TinaRae Scott was absent.
Because it was a special meeting, Board President Terry Powell noted that the board was working from a limited agenda. The board first approved the agenda as presented before moving to action items.
Superintendent Tyson Eslinger reviewed the request for proposals for the roof replacement financing. He said the district had expanded its search regionally and that information had been sent to Lyon County State Bank, Landmark National Bank, First National Bank of Hope and Bank of the Flint Hills. Eslinger said the district received one proposal, from Bank of the Flint Hills.
Eslinger said the proposal represented about $110,000 in savings over the course of 10 years when compared with the proposal the board had reviewed earlier this month. He said the fees were higher with the Bank of the Flint Hills proposal, but the lower interest rate made the total cost less over the life of the financing agreement.
The board approved a contract with Coryell Roofing in the amount of $1,479,096.39 for a Duro-Last layover roof system at the District Office, Council Grove Elementary School and Council Grove Junior Senior High School. The BOE approved the lease-purchase financing agreement with Bank of the Flint Hills at a fixed rate of 4.69% over 10 years, with annual payments of $189,311.62.
The motion also authorized the superintendent to execute the necessary contract and financing documents.
Board member James Blue asked whether the district would be taking on too much debt with the project. Eslinger said he and Bryce had reviewed the district’s capital outlay position closely and felt comfortable with the plan. He said the new payment, combined with another existing payment, would bring annual debt payments into the $300,000 range. He said the district brings in more than $900,000 in capital outlay funds annually, leaving more than $600,000 each year to address other capital outlay needs.
Eslinger said the district has about five years remaining on the turf and track lease. He said future facility discussions could affect whether some obligations are paid off earlier, but the district still has enough cushion to continue addressing projects.
The board then discussed a second possible roof project involving a section of the 1918 portion of the Council Grove Junior Senior High School building. Eslinger said the recommendation had been to apply a coating rather than a roof overlay system. He said that work could not be included in the lease-purchase agreement and would have to be paid from the capital outlay budget. The estimated cost discussed was $83,838.
Eslinger noted that Coryell would perform an adhesion test before applying the coating. If the test showed the coating would not hold, the company would not proceed, and the district would have to consider a different plan.
Eslinger said the coating was expected to provide about 10 years of protection, giving the district time to determine long-term facility plans.
Tom VanValkenburg said the section in question may not include the full 1918 building because part of roof already has a newer rubberized roof. He said the area still needing attention appeared to be the home economics area and possibly the boiler area.
Eslinger said the image provided by Coryell appeared to show the entire 1918 building, but after Van Valkenburg’s clarification, he recommended that the board hold off until the district could verify the exact scope of work with Coryell.
The board tabled action on that portion of the project. Powell said the issue could likely be brought back at the June meeting and still be completed during the summer since Coryell would already be working in the district.
The board adjourned after noting that it will meet again at 6:30 p.m. on June 4 for a community meeting in the CGJSHS south commons area to discuss bond survey results, followed by its regular meeting on June 8.
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