The city hopes to get about $2.28 million in state grants to help repair leaky roofs at Ansonia Middle School, Prendergast and Mead elementary schools, and the district’s administrative building.
The Board of Aldermen voted last week, at a joint meeting with the Board of Apportionment and Taxation, to apply for the grants before the end of June. The application deadline is July 1.
If approved, the city could start work on the repairs in 2012.
“We’re probably a year away from final approval,” said George Boath, chairman of the School Building Commission.
The leaks have been patched as they arise, for at least six years. The roofs are about 20 years old each, and no longer are covered by any warranty.
The city has been studying the roofs since December, when Mayor James Della Volpe appointed a School Building Committee to evaluate the problems. At the time, Della Volpe said Prendergast’s roof was in “dire” condition.
The total repair project for the four buildings is expected to cost about $3.64 million, according to Boath.
Boath presented the commission’s findings at the meeting Thursday, and said the city needs to act quickly in order to meet the state deadline for the grant application.
“We’re under a tight time frame,“Boath said.
The grants come in the form of state reimbursements, so the city would have to pay for the repairs upfront.
While the state will likely reimburse $2.28 million, the city will have to pay for about $1.36 million itself, Boath said.
The Board of Apportionment and Taxation approved the upfront encumbrance of the total cost of the project from the city’s $6.2 million fund balance. The city does not actually plan to use fund balance money to pay for the project. It will determine where to get the money from later on. The encumbrance just proves that the city has money, in order to qualify for the grant.
Robert Evans, the district’s director of facilities, showed photographs of the leaking roofs, and talked about how ceiling tiles must often be replaced because they get wet.
