Dist. 211 votes to move utility poles from site

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 officials voted to spend up to $36,000 to move utility poles in Palatine so students can continue to working on a school construction project halted last month.

The figure will likely be lower, but that's the maximum money the board authorized on Thursday to fix the problem. The money will come from the Student Building Construction Program contingency fund.

Students enrolled in a Schaumburg High School construction class were told in early November that power lines were too close to a wall they had just built at a site at 40 E. Michigan Ave. in Palatine. Village and ComEd officials had safety concerns. The stop-work order frustrated students who were looking forward to finishing construction. The project started in August.

District 211 officials have been working since then in ways to allow students to continue to safely work on the two-story home with garage. One temporary solution was building a wall and fencing to protect students.

Board member Debra Strauss wondered why the site plan submitted for the student project failed to take into account the poles and wondered who was accountable. She did note that teacher William Frasier noticed the problem before the village did, but still wondered about responsibility.

"Why does it fall on us?" she said.

ComEd told District 211 it would cost $13,651 to move the two utility poles, while AT&T said it would cost $12,562 to move the telephone lines. The district continues to negotiate with AT&T and the cost may actually be lower, Robb said. Comcast lines would also be moved, but officials at the cable company have yet to provide the district with an estimate.

Superintendent Nancy Robb said she believes the figure to be around $3,000, as moving the Comcast lines doesn't involve moving poles. However to be safe, the board authorized a maximum $10,000 to move the Comcast lines.

"Obviously we're not happy with the cost," Robb said.

Robb added that the work will likely be done the first week of January and completed by the end of the month.

Palatine officials had no problem with the solution. The plan had to go through both the village's public works and building departments.

"It's pretty cut and dry," said Harry Spila, Palatine's director of community services. "We just had to approve their proposal."

• Daily Herald staff writer Kimberly Pohl contributed to this report.