Special Meeting and Vote: Capital Improvements Project, 2021

1. a citizen of the United States of America
2. eighteen years of age or older
3. a resident within the district for a period of thirty days preceding the annual meeting and election, and
4. not otherwise disqualified from voting in school district elections

Capital Improvements Project, 2021 - Proposition 

PROPOSITION NO. 1 – CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, 2021

Shall the following resolutions be adopted, to-wit:

                        RESOLVED, that the Board of Education (the “Board”) of the Southwestern Central School District, Chautauqua County, New York (the “District”), is hereby authorized to undertake a proposed “Capital Improvements Project, 2021” (the “Project”) consisting of the partial reconstruction and renovation of, and the construction of improvements, upgrades and additions to various District buildings and facilities (and the sites thereof), at an estimated maximum cost of $18,237,000, to implement various health, safety, accessibility and Code compliance measures that are required by the State Education Department in connection with any significant capital improvements project and various other measures that are generally described in (but are not to be limited by) the written plan for the Project that was prepared by the District with the assistance of CPL Architects, Engineers, Landscape Architect and Surveyor, D.P.C. (the “Project Plan”), which is available for public inspection in the office of the District Clerk, such work being anticipated to include, without limitation and to the extent as and where required, the particular elements described below. Proposed building space construction and reconstruction work at the High School is anticipated to include kitchen and cafeteria upgrades including renovations, a cafeteria addition and outdoor patio, and food service equipment; a new elevator and shaft for compliance with stretcher accessibility requirements; and locker room changing booths.  At the Middle School, existing space construction and reconstruction work is anticipated to include the development of a secure vestibule, a multipurpose space with outdoor patio, District office space, and an upgraded kitchen.  Other Middle School renovations are anticipated to include improvements to restrooms and the main office, and the installation of locker room changing booths.  Elementary School renovations are anticipated to include door security upgrades; gymnasium flooring, wall, and ceiling finishes, wall pads, and adjustable hardware for existing backboards; cabinetry; and minor floor tile and restroom partitions upgrades.  Exterior building envelope work at the High School is anticipated to include new roofing over selected areas and masonry and other exterior upgrades such as work on openings, lintels, fascia, and canopies.  Other proposed exterior work is anticipated to include new Middle School windows and various Elementary School upgrades such as doors, a reconstructed chimney cap, and overhead soffits.  Multiple upgrades to building systems, including mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC improvements, are proposed at each school and include boilers and boiler pumps, unit ventilators, cooling equipment, emergency power, and duct cleaning at the High School; unit ventilators and surge protection at the Middle School; pool HVAC, plumbing, and filtration upgrades, heat pumps, locker room shower units, classroom sinks, and a water softener at the Elementary School; and electrical panel and related upgrades at the Bus Garage.  Proposed site work is anticipated to include new synthetic turf and infill and LED lighting at the stadium sports field, underdrainage at the Middle School soccer field, and reconstructed stairs and sidewalks at the High School.  If the budget allows after receiving construction bids, or if other items are identified, additional similar renovations, upgrades, and improvements could be undertaken, possibly including items such as a stadium synthetic turf field underdrain system, stadium press box upgrades, Elementary School boilers and generator, an addition to the High School kitchen, and additional exterior wall reconstruction.  All of such work (or so much thereof as can be accomplished within the overall budget for the Project, once the construction bids are received) is to be undertaken at an estimated maximum cost of $18,237,000, and will include the purchase of original furnishings, equipment, machinery and apparatus required in connection with the purposes for which such buildings, facilities and sites are used, and all ancillary or related work required in connection therewith, and the Board is authorized to expend therefor, including for preliminary costs and costs incidental thereto and to the financing thereof, an amount not to exceed the estimated maximum cost of $18,237,000, provided that the detailed costs of the components of the Project (as generally described in the Project Plan) may be reallocated among such components, or such components may be deleted, revised or supplemented if (1) the Board shall determine that such reallocation, deletion, revision or supplementation is in the best interests of the District and (2) the aggregate amount to be expended for the Project shall not exceed $18,237,000 and (3) no material change shall be made in the overall scope and nature of the Project; and be it further

                        RESOLVED, that the Board is hereby authorized to expend or apply toward the Project (1) during the current fiscal year of the District, $1,200,000 from the District’s Capital Improvements Reserve Fund that was established in 2019 and (2) $800,000 of other available District funds; and be it further 

                        RESOLVED, that a tax is hereby voted to finance the balance of the estimated maximum cost of the Project in an amount not to exceed $16,237,000, such tax to be levied and collected in installments in such years and in such amounts as shall be determined by the Board; and be it further

                        RESOLVED, that in anticipation of such tax, obligations of the District including, without limitation, serial bonds, statutory installment bonds, bond anticipation notes and/or lease/purchase obligations, or any combination thereof, are hereby authorized to be issued in the aggregate principal amount of not to exceed $16,237,000, and a tax is hereby voted to pay the interest on such obligations as the same shall become due and payable; and be it further

                        RESOLVED, that New York State Building Aid funds expected to be received by the District are anticipated to offset a substantial part of such costs, and such funds shall, to the extent received, be applied to offset and reduce the amount of taxes herein authorized to be levied.