OXFORD — Voters in the Oxford Hills School District will go to the polls in June to act on a request for a bond of about $1 million to pay for school building renovations.
The largest project is to replace molded Sheetrock, rusted rusted metal studs and insulation in the perimeter walls of the Otisfield Community School, as well as windows and window seals.
A contract for $818,000 was awarded to Ganneston Construction of Augusta to do the work. The state will provide $793,000 from its revolving loan fund to help pay for work, and taxpayers must pay back 49 percent of that through a 10-year loan.
A construction loan of $156,666 would fund the balance of the project, Business Manager Cathy Fanjoy Coffey said. A sum of $63,000 was approved in last year’s warrant for the project.
Approval of the bond is not expected to have any significant impact on taxes, Superintendent Rick Colpitts said.
“If you factor that all together, you’re looking at an annual payment of $60,000 each year,” he said.
Officials believe the mold developed from moisture coming through exterior walls after coming off the roof, and exterior foundation weep holes blocked by poor grading. Moisture is also suspected to have gotten into the walls through some leaking windows.
The project is slated to start in June and end by the first of August.
“We need to do the project because we need the facility,” Colpitts said. “We don’t have the room. If the project is not done, we have to either keep the children in the school building or find housing elsewhere. Neither option is good.”
Three other projects would be funded, including:
* $35,000 to build a ramp and add automatic doors at the Harrison Elementary School. The local share would be $17,000.
* $19,000 to install a ramp and automatic doors at Waterford Memorial Elementary School. The local share is $9,370.
$51,686 to replace doorknobs with levers and install automatic doors for handicap accessibility at Rowe Elementary School. The local share would be $25,300.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.