Public meeting May 29 Residents in the Byron-Bergen Central School District will head to the polls on Wednesday, June 6 to decide on a proposed New Millennium Capital Project which would renovate and modernize the district's physical plant. District Superintendent Dr. Gregory Geer said the $29.5 million project is "the biggest single project since the consolidation of the district." Geer said the district started to look into renovations, additions and site improvements about two-and-a-half to three years ago. The original part of the middle school/high school dates back 50 years and Geer said the on-site sewer plant is now 25 to 30-years-old. The age of the facility coupled with problems like leaking roofs and an auditorium which still has its original 1957-era seats prompted the district to propose the New Millennium project. "This is a time for the Byron-Bergen community to take a look at up-grading facilities so that students now and in the future will have equal footing with those in other districts," Geer said. Geer said the project focuses on three main areas: infrastructure, student safety and programming. About 25 percent of the project is aimed at sewer disposal, electrical distribution capacity, roofs, and flooring which would all be brought up to code and any remaining asbestos would be removed. The second part of the project focuses on student and staff safety. Geer said a new bus loop on the north side of the middle school/high school would separate bus traffic from pedestrian traffic and would better, " ... control access to the building." The flow of visitors entering the elementary school would also be improved. Geer said that Proposition #2 of the proposal includes reconstructing existing parking areas and constructing two new access roads which would help eliminate potentially dangerous traffic situations. One twelve-foot wide road would be constructed between the middle school/high school and the Natatorium (indoor swimming pool facility). Geer said this would also prevent students from having to walk on West Bergen Road to go between the two schools. The second access road would be 24 feet wide and would move traffic from West Bergen Road south behind the elementary school to soccer fields. Geer said Proposition #2 can only be passed if Proposition #1 passes. The final area covered by the project includes programming: new academic, economic, social and cultural demands put on students and staff. Geer said the project would help to meet student needs today and in the future and would help them compete in a world which is getting smaller and smaller. Included in this part of the proposal are upgrades of high school art and computer classrooms and the creation of business and technology classrooms. Classrooms would be created for middle school life skills and health and middle school home and careers, science and computer classrooms would be upgraded. Space would be enlarged for vocal and instrumental music instruction and storage. Geer said the district has a very distinguished music program and 35 percent of students in grades 5-12 are participants in the choral program alone. The project includes a new consolidated library for the middle school/high school and a new physical education wing that would double the size of the gym. Geer said the new gym would include two practice facilities, a big help for winter sports especially. Basketball practices have run as late at 9:30 p.m., Geer said. The new facility would get students home earlier and open up the gym for more community activities. A contemporary cafeteria and a newly constructed kitchen would be built to address both nutritional needs of students and provide food service for community events. Funding for the $29.5 million Proposition #1 includes over $23.5 million in state aid. Additional money would come from a state EXCEL Grant, a capital reserve fund and interest earnings. Property owners would have to cover $3.8 million, about 19 percent of the total cost, Geer said. Proposition #2 has a cost of $1.6 million and would be funded entirely through property taxes. The tax impact of Proposition #1 for a property with an assessed value of $100,000: •With no STAR exemption, the cost would be $44 annually or $3.67 per month, on average. •A property with Basic STAR exemption would have an average annual cost of $30.80 or $2.57 per month. •The senior STAR exemption would result in an average cost of $22 annually or $1.83 per month. Geer added that the costs for Proposition #2 would be similar. Geer encourages residents to attend the final public hearing on the project set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29 at the Bergen Fire Hall. Voting is Wednesday, June 6 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the high school wrestling/fitness room. "This building has served us well for over 50 years," Geer said. The New Millennium Project, "... will help us to move ahead to meet the needs of the new millennium." May 27, 2007 |
