Geneva schools prioritize list of improvements

The Geneva school district has a list of potential building repairs and improvements over the next five years that total more than $6.3 million.

But some of those are fixes for two old buildings the school board isn’t sure it wants to keep: the former Coultrap Elementary School and the former Fourth Street School, which is used as administrative headquarters.

Facility operations director John Robinson said he prioritized the items based on their cost, necessity of repair or replacement, and efficiencies to be gained if the work is done. About $900,000 in work was identified for Coultrap, and $140,000 for Fourth Street.

“I would not consider doing anything with Coultrap or Fourth Street until we know what we are going to do with them in the future,” said Trustee Matt Henry, mentioning especially cosmetic items such as replacing worn-out, bumpy carpeting at the headquarters. And Trustee Mark Grosso suggested the board form a committee to review the plan’s suggestions, an idea board President Tim Moran said could be discussed at a board retreat in June.

Among other things, Coultrap has brickwork losing mortar, leaks in its roofs, leaks and mineral deposits in its 90-year-old plumbing, and plaster cracked and falling. It has been empty for two years. Geneva High School sports teams and the Geneva Park District sometimes use the gym, and the school board meets in the cafeteria.

Trustee Bill Wilson wondered why there were so many HVAC issues on the list, including cases where systems are the wrong size for the intended space. He said he would like to know whether the engineers made incorrect calculations or if they were operating on bad specifications supplied by the district.

Replacing the turf on Burgess Field, whether with natural grass or an artificial system, was ranked as a first-year priority.

New Trustee Michael McCormick asked whether there was a way to triage the work, or put most of it off a few years until the economy has improved and landowners are better able to handle increased property tax bills. The plan suggests paying for the work out of the district’s cash reserves.

Robinson said the plan was “fluid” and that some work could be delayed.

Although all the board members said they wanted nothing done to Coultrap or Fourth Street until they decide which building to sell, none proposed a date for making that decision.

Moran said he was inclined to wait an unspecified while longer, in hopes that the real estate market improves and the district could get a better price. The board has been talking since the 2006 master facilities plan about whether to move headquarters in to Coultrap, which is next to Geneva High School. Some trustees, including Moran, had previously said they thought Fourth Street is more viable for residential redevelopment. There is also a strong sentimental feeling for Coultrap; the original part of the building was the town’s high school for nearly 30 years. It is named after a former superintendent.

Bob McQuillan, a resident who founded a group critical of the school board’s spending, said he was concerned the board was considering spending $6 million on capital improvements when tax bills are climbing higher, and that he would rather be spending $6 million to improve curriculum. But “I was encouraged by a lot of the questions the board had” about the plan, he said.

Besides the HVAC repairs, the plan calls for parking lot repairs or replacements at seven buildings and installing a fire-suppression sprinkler system at Coultrap. Burgess Field is the biggest-ticket item, followed by $500,000 to replace faulty flooring at the high school and $350,000 to install a chiller to replace three condensing units at the high school.