AUBURN - The citizens of the Auburn Enlarged City School District will decide whether the district will spend almost $17 million on buildings and facilities improvements.
The board of education unanimously passed resolutions Tuesday to put a proposed capital improvement project on a ballot for voters to approve.
A special election will take place Dec. 1 for the project.
Under the proposal, the district would front $520,000 for the improvements and borrow the remaining $16.47 million. The state is expected to reimburse the district for 87 percent of the project's costs.
During the meeting, board Vice President San Giangreco said a lot of time and effort has been put into the specifics of the improvement plan.
Members of the district's Long Range Planning Committee have toured the buildings and combed through the plan, line by line, to make sure it has been trimmed down as much as possible, Giangreco said.
“We looked at it carefully, and I mean picked it apart pretty well,” he said. “I understand ... we're going through some difficult times, but you have to maintain what you have.”
Included in the project are plans to install new energy efficient lights, replace outdated water fixtures, replace old and inefficient windows, upgrade fire alarms and security systems, repair degraded concrete structures such as ramps walls and sidewalks, repair or upgrade portions of Holland Stadium and renovate certain athletic fields.
Before the special election, the district will have to advertise the project in local media outlets.
There will also be multiple public meetings and forums for members of the public to learn more about the project.
During Tuesday's meeting, financial consultant Bernard Donegan discussed the capital improvement plan's potential impact on the district and members of the public. This project will cost the district approximately $290,000 per year, Donegan said, which will be spread out over a more-than $25 million tax base.
He estimated the average impact on district taxpayers who own a $100,000 tax parcel: $6 more per year for individuals with senior-citizen exemptions, $11 per year more for property owners with regular exemptions and $16 per year for property owners with no exemption.
Donegan said moving forward with a project like this will put Auburn ahead of the curve when compared to other school districts around the state. Next year, districts will be required to provide a report to the state of all their buildings, he said.
By pursuing these improvements before the other districts, Auburn would have a better pick of contractors and possibly get lower bids, Donegan said.
“It's very, very good for you to be in front of the pack,” Donegan said to the board members.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
A special election will take place Dec. 1 for the project.
Under the proposal, the district would front $520,000 for the improvements and borrow the remaining $16.47 million. The state is expected to reimburse the district for 87 percent of the project's costs.
During the meeting, board Vice President San Giangreco said a lot of time and effort has been put into the specifics of the improvement plan.
Members of the district's Long Range Planning Committee have toured the buildings and combed through the plan, line by line, to make sure it has been trimmed down as much as possible, Giangreco said.
“We looked at it carefully, and I mean picked it apart pretty well,” he said. “I understand ... we're going through some difficult times, but you have to maintain what you have.”
Included in the project are plans to install new energy efficient lights, replace outdated water fixtures, replace old and inefficient windows, upgrade fire alarms and security systems, repair degraded concrete structures such as ramps walls and sidewalks, repair or upgrade portions of Holland Stadium and renovate certain athletic fields.
Before the special election, the district will have to advertise the project in local media outlets.
There will also be multiple public meetings and forums for members of the public to learn more about the project.
During Tuesday's meeting, financial consultant Bernard Donegan discussed the capital improvement plan's potential impact on the district and members of the public. This project will cost the district approximately $290,000 per year, Donegan said, which will be spread out over a more-than $25 million tax base.
He estimated the average impact on district taxpayers who own a $100,000 tax parcel: $6 more per year for individuals with senior-citizen exemptions, $11 per year more for property owners with regular exemptions and $16 per year for property owners with no exemption.
Donegan said moving forward with a project like this will put Auburn ahead of the curve when compared to other school districts around the state. Next year, districts will be required to provide a report to the state of all their buildings, he said.
By pursuing these improvements before the other districts, Auburn would have a better pick of contractors and possibly get lower bids, Donegan said.
“It's very, very good for you to be in front of the pack,” Donegan said to the board members.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
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zapped wrote on Sep 23, 2009 11:51 PM:
13021man wrote on Sep 23, 2009 10:01 PM:
Yikes wrote on Sep 23, 2009 7:56 PM:
I'd better dust off the old abacus and do some quick math for this one.
$16.00 divided by 365 days in a year equates to:
Just a sec....that's a lot of red and green balls sliding across these bars multiple times......
And the answer is: 4 CENTS A DAY. That's correct folks, an increase of 4 CENTS A DAY for $17 MILLION worth of upgrades/repairs. "
The Truth wrote on Sep 23, 2009 6:15 PM:
Vote "NO" "
jlmorgansr wrote on Sep 23, 2009 3:22 PM:
This district is truly depressed, we have a high unemployment rate, high taxes, and of the 3 local taxes, the school taxes are the largest. The state stopped the STAR rebate checks and the state is wrestling with a 1.2 billion dollar deficit. Patterson has increased fees for everything we buy and or use in NY and he has deemed it necessary to make new plates so we will be forced to purchase them when our registrations expire.
The board also has yet to settle the teachers contract. Pabis got his raise and the administrators got their raises, but the teachers got nothing. So, those pennies for this project will turn into future increases because the board failed to get an accurate accounting of future expenditures.
If Pabis and the board had settled the contracts and budgeted accordingly then you would have an idea of how much money was available, and how much the public could afford to spend. But not this guy! He does everything backwards, then slams us when we say no.
Well I say no! Pabis and his board needs to go. We need a more responsive board, a board who listens to the people who are paying the bills. These guys must GO! "
bm1992 wrote on Sep 23, 2009 1:47 PM:
bigal wrote on Sep 23, 2009 12:03 PM:
stick wrote on Sep 23, 2009 9:13 AM:
tome8689 wrote on Sep 23, 2009 8:50 AM: