Kendall school awards bids

Bids were awarded to six contractors for the $4,750,000 Kendall Central School building project.

The bids had been opened at a December board meeting but no contracts had been awarded because the district was forced to rework the figures and cut more than $318,451 from the original project bids.

"The cuts got us into the range of where the taxpayers had voted for the price to be," School Superintendent Michael O'Laughlin said. "We still have, within the budget, a $128,000 contingency reserve."

Contracts were awarded to: Flower City Asbestos for asbestos removal; LeChase Construction for site work; R-J Taylor for general construction; Leo Roth Corp. for heating and ventilation work; Landry Mechanical for plumbing; and Ronald Billitier Electric for the electrical work.

"The district wanted to maintain the integrity of the original proposal," O'Laughlin said. "The board cut items that could have been labeled luxury items."

One of the cuts was the elimination of vinyl coating for the chain link fence. Part of the proposal also called for the removal an old air conditioning unit at the high school. O'Laughlin said the district could facilitate the removal of the unit with their own manpower at a reduced rate.

Kevin and Kathy Noon, owners of K&K Markets, have donated about 40 acres of land to the district as part of the project and they have been actively involved in the project since its inception. "We would like the sky and the pie as part of the project," Noon said. "But as a matter of practicality, we can't have it all."

Noon places the blame for the lack of funds on the late budget in New York state. "The governor should be taking the rap on our not being able to have the complete project we intended," he said. "The late budget cost the taxpayers millions of dollars."

Noon said when it takes 18 months to get something approved because the state budget hasn't been approved, it affects everyone, especially school districts.

"The thought process on the cuts is that they won't affect the project in the long run and some of the items that were cut can be added later," Noon said. "I'm still excited about this project and the community is definitely the winner here."

"We are looking to begin construction in the spring," O'Laughlin said.

He said because a major component of the project involves 40 acres of land that sits between the schools, construction can begin with no disruption in classrooms. Work on the roadways, drainage and bus garage construction would most likely be the first order of business, he said. The second phase of the construction would be work on the track and fields and the third phase would be the high school addition.

The project involves construction of a fitness facility and an all weather track, both of which will be open to the community, five baseball diamonds, five tennis courts, two lighted basketball courts, a new bus garage and a 108-car parking lot.

Safety issues will also be addressed within the scope of the project, he said. The project will improve safety for the students by making provisions for construction of a second road to the high school. Also included are funds to replace the septic system at the elementary school and refurbish the septic system at the high school.