Hilton School District looking at building infrastructure; proposal to present capital project to voters

Hilton School District looking at building infrastructure; proposal to present capital project to voters

A group of 15 Hilton School District official, staff and community members met Wednesday, November 1, to begin discussion of New York State Education Department's "Excell" building aid. "It is a financial opportunity we have and the timetable we're working under is tight," according to Assistant Superintendent for Business Steven Ayers who facilitated the meeting. "We have a 20-year history of doing capital projects every four or five years to stay current with regular building maintenance. What is unique about the Excel aid opportunity is that the Hilton School District has the opportunity to supplement its normal 85 percent building aid rebate from the state with the new Excel Aid. This offers districts a special incentive grant to complete needed repairs which can be applied to the portion (15 percent) of the costs that are not covered by the building aid rebate. In our case, it amounts to $1.4 million. This proposed project would effectively have no tax impact for Hilton residents, but there is a relatively rapid timeline we must meet to be able to take advantage of this aid," Ayers said. "We have a lot of work to do and we have to move quickly to meet deadline requirements."

The proposed project will focus strictly on infrastructure needs, based on the current age and condition of the buildings' various physical plant systems. The planning committee's work is based on the district's building condition survey which was performed by The Thomas Group architectural firm from Ithaca in 2005 as required by state law, and the district's "Five-Year Capital Plan" which was prepared by the district business office based on the surveys.

"The Planning Committee will make recommendations about building and facility needs such as roof replacements, abatement, etc. in order to identify costs of repair to our infrastructure to the board of education for a vote January 30, 2007," Ayers, said.

In attendance at the November 1 meeting were: The Thomas Group Architect Pam Hamill, Superintendent David Dimbleby, Hilton High School Principal Brian Bartalo, Northwood Elementary Assistant Principal Karen Bolinger, Budget Director Adam Geist, Director of Buildings and Grounds Tom Oaks, Director of Security Steve Lemon, Director of Communications Barbara Carder, Board Members Steve Beauvais and Gary Comardo, Quest Teacher Darrel Dupra, Merton Williams Custodian Jim Dawson, Village Elementary Custodian Karen Dawson, Community Member Sarisa Zoghlin and Ayers.

For information and community participation, call 392-1000 ext. 7033.

Editors note: Look for an upcoming article on proposed capital projects in Spencerport and Holley.