CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield school board heard a preliminary engineering evaluation on its aging maintenance building and adjourning administrative office addition on River Road during Monday night’s combined committee and board meeting.
Wilson Fisher of Hess & Fisher Engineers Inc. of Clearfield evaluated the building Sept. 3. He said it was “very, very old and not in good shape” with a number of critical elements failing or near failing. Fisher said it would require a significant expense to make the building code compliant, habitable and useful.
According to Fisher, a Federal Emergency Management Agency map from November of 2011 shows the district’s maintenance building is within the flood elevation zone. He said the first floor would be over a foot-and-a-half under water when a flood occurs. Fisher also said that the storm drains back up now on occasion.
Additionally, he said the building’s roof is bowing inward, meaning its truss and structural support system has been suffering from stresses that are causing distortion of the roof components. He said it’s likely that the roof’s structural support has not rebounded from heavy snow and ice loads from the past few years.
He added that the roof covering over the structural portion is old, leaking and beyond its life. Not only would it be very costly to repair the roof’s structural and covering systems, he said but also to replace the building’s heating system, to properly insulate it and to have asbestos removal done by a specialist.
In order to bring the maintenance building up to code and make it useful, Fisher said it would probably cost the district between $500,000 and $600,000. He said he identified deficiencies that reflect a building that has had a long life and fulfilled its usefulness. Given that it is an old building, Fisher believed additional problems would only manifest over time.
“Repair, replacement and or remediation would be putting Band-Aids on a severe wound … I recommend that the building be sold, as is, or demolished,” said Fisher. He added that if the district decided to demolish the maintenance building, asbestos removal would be required beforehand.
After Fisher’s presentation, the board heard from Fred Lehman of Morton Buildings Inc. He said Fisher had asked him to prepare a cost estimate for a new maintenance building that would be similar in specifications to the one for which the district received high bids for.
Based upon specifications for erecting a 60-foot by 100-foot building with a concrete floor and insulation, Lehman said it could probably be done for plus or minus $300,000. He noted they had constructed a similar building, a bus garage with office space, in DuBois.
Lehman said Morton Buildings would determine the cost for a maintenance building if one is approved by the board. Afterward it would go out to every general contractor bidding on it. Lehman said the general contractor would be responsible for the concrete, utilities and site work.
Later in the meeting, board member Phil Carr asked what the next step was for the district regarding a maintenance building. Superintendent Terry Struble said he would like the board to have a buildings and grounds committee meeting to discuss the district’s properties and to consider options for a maintenance building.
Struble said he thought the board could hear presentations and discuss maintenance building options in January, receive bids in February and consider approval in March.
Carr also asked about the status of the former Centre Elementary School and the Clearfield Area Middle School.
Struble said the district had started to collect estimates for asbestos abatement and a salvage/demolition process at the former middle school.
So far as Centre, Struble said they had a group look at the property Friday and have a private party showing interest, as well.
Business Administrator Sam Maney said it would cost approximately $800,000 if the district proceeded with the asbestos abatement and salvage/demolition process at the former middle school.
Struble said the board would need to set a meeting to further discuss how it wants to proceed with handling the school property matters.