New track near top of list of potential Batavia school projects

A new outdoor track at the high school and replacing doors and windows on the main entrances to Rotolo Middle School are among the top items suggested for work this year at Batavia schools, according to a capital projects report to be presented to the school board Tuesday.

The board's finance committee reviewed the annual report Thursday.

"The trend (amount of work) is actually turning down at the moment, which shows we are doing the right thing," Pat Browne, the district's director of buildings and grounds, told the committee. He said that beginning in 2010, costs had risen because the district had deferred some maintenance for several years before that, during the recession. "Not a lot has been added to this report."

The report has been revamped using a facility condition index. The index divides the price of the proposed work for a building by the costs to reproduce that building. Browne said it is a standard used in commercial building management.

Overall, the Batavia buildings averaged a score of 4 percent, which is good, Browne said. The outlier is Batavia High School, at 11 percent, a score considered "poor." That's because at least $14 million worth of site work on the athletic fields is included in the calculation, Browne said. J.B. Nelson Elementary, the oldest school building at 59 years, is considered "fair" at 6 percent, and Hoover-Wood Elementary, built in 2001, is "good," at 0.25 percent. The report suggests replumbing water-supply lines at J.B. Nelson, due to corroded and failing galvanized pipes in tunnels under the school.

If the high school site work wasn't in the equation, Batavia High School would score 1 percent, he said.

Browne suggested the district consider obtaining a professional infrared analysis of the buildings, to pinpoint spots where heat or water are lost, particularly in walls and windows. A study could cost $28,000 to $45,000, he said.

Suggested projects for the 2015-16 fiscal year include $340,000 of site work, mostly replacing parking lots, at Grace McWayne Elementary School. Browne also said seals have failed on the windows in the entries at Rotolo, and that the door frames are corroding. Replacing the doors and windows is estimated to cost $70,000 apiece.

The district obtained bids for replacing the high school track last fall, but the project is being rebid due to a "misunderstanding" between Browne and architects about details of the project, Browne said.

The school board meets at 7 p.m. at headquarters at 335 W. Wilson St.