MEXICO – The Region 9 board agreed Tuesday to spend up to $3,000 to study the damaged vocational school roof and install an elevator.

December’s heavy rains caused severe damage to the 17,200-square-foot roof.

The board and Director Deborah Guimont had also been planning to try to fund the installation of an elevator so that each of the two floors and the basement would be handicap accessible. Guimont, with the support of the state, is combining the two projects.

She said the state will likely help the school pay for the roof and an elevator through a no-interest loan. But first, a structural analysis by an engineer must be conducted on both the roof and the three options for the installation of an elevator.

Preliminary estimated costs for both projects have come in at just under $200,000.

Guimont said a portion of the state’s $75,000 annual reimbursement to the vocational region for the building’s mortgage could be used to pay a 10-year loan for funding the two projects.

Guimont will also research whether the vocational school is eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for a new roof.

Representatives from the state Department of Education are expected to inspect the roof and the sites for the installation of an elevator next week.

Board Chairman Norman Clanton said one option is an exterior elevator for the two floors and perhaps the basement. That plan may be less expensive and save interior space. Another option is an elevator for access to both main floors, and a third is an elevator that would access both floors and the basement.

Guimont said about 2,700 square feet is available for student use in the basement. Right now, a portion of it is used part time as a shop space for students in the diversified occupation program.

The board also approved attendance by 14 students and two chaperones to the Vocational and Industrial Clubs of America annual competition on March 11 and 12 in Bangor. Here, students from vocational schools all over the state compete in the skills taught in building trades, metal trades and many other vocational programs.

Board member Arthur Boivin requested a student report on the event at a later meeting.

The board also met in two closed sessions. The first was to finalize the annual evaluation of Guimont. The second was to hear a report from the school’s negotiating committee.

eadams@sunjournal.com

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