SOMERS, N.Y. - Upgrades for athletics facilities are rolling right along in Somers, school officials were told last week.
Presenting each project’s status to the Board of Education on Tuesday, Jan. 21, were Kevin Sawyer of Triton Construction Co. LLC, and Michael Lantier of H2M architects + engineers.
“I hope you had the opportunity to see – before the snow hit the ground – the considerable amount of work that’s been done in various areas of your athletics fields, including the tennis courts which are 98 percent complete,” Sawyer said.
Previously, Tusker tennis teams had to play at Reis Park. Many players had complained about public courts’ slippery plastic mat -- and astro turf/sand -- surfaces.
They also said being bused to the park interfered with practice times. Players had to change in the library’s two-stall bathroom and some were penalized for being late for matches.
Student athletes felt that Tusker spirit was suffering because the off-campus location discouraged spectators and because other teams teased them for playing on non-traditional courts.
Located at the high school, the new courts were made available for matches last October. Bleachers will be installed in March.
Calling them “beautiful,” school board President Amanda Kandel noted that three of the new courts will be lined for six pickleball courts.
“Throwing event” facilities are about 30 percent complete. Crews are expected to “remobilize” in February. Work should be finished in April. (“Throwing events” are track and field competitions that test an athlete’s strength, coordination, and throwing abilities. The four main ones are: shot put, discus, hammer, and javelin.)
The high school baseball field is 95 percent done.
The stormwater management system has already been installed and is in use.
According to Sawyer, it “appears to be working very well” compared to one at the former field.
Synthetic turf and fill were installed “prior to the weather turning poorly.”
Bleachers are on track to be up in March. The last thing to be done is to put a concrete sidewalk connecting the field to the parking lot.
Everything should be in place in time for “the spring athletic events,” Sawyer said.
The softball field at Primrose Elementary School is “taking a little longer than we had hoped,” he said, blaming the cold weather.
While the main stormwater system has been installed it still needs a “flat drainage” system.
Some stone material has to be added and the site graded, which is “very, very difficult to do when the ground is frozen or wet,” Sawyer explained, adding: “So were looking forward to the spring and the thaw so we can jump back into those areas and get them completed as quickly as possible.”
The good news is that dugouts “are being built as we speak,” he said. Bleachers are expected to be installed in February, or by early March at the latest.
Trustee Patrick Varbero asked if the district was “on budget with this” or has it “incurred any additional costs?”
“We’re well within our budget,” Sawyer replied.
Trustee Dr. Ifay Chang then inquired about any “savings” that may be attached to the athletics projects.
“Off the top of my head, I can’t tell you exactly what the savings are, but I can certainly get that information to the board after this meeting,” Sawyer said.
Christopher Platania, the district’s assistant superintendent for business and operations, jumped in to say that “there’s not going to be much savings there.”
“Probably not,” Sawyer agreed, adding: “It’s obviously our intention to spend all the money without going over and, so far, that’s what we’re tracking.”
“The budget that we did have, we were able to get the majority of the work done that we wanted to get done, but it’s going to be right up against that budget, so I wouldn’t expect anything coming in much less than that,” Platania said.
Capital Plan Outlined
Lantier was up next.
H2M and Triton have been working with the district on its comprehensive plan.
In 2019, the district was required by the state Education Department to complete a “building condition” survey.
The process involves an engineer and architect walking through each building and noting any items that need attention.
Potential “wish list” items were also added to the so-called “five-year plan,” Lantier said.
The process included the review of all the spaces and numerous discussions with administrators, building leaders, teachers, and staff.
Projects were separated into six categories: interior, exterior, site, water systems, HVAC systems, and electrical systems.
Future needs, aka “wish lists,” were identified as well.
Once those “building blocks” were in place, the consultants and district officials prioritized them, worked on budgeting, and tried to figure out financing strategies for the actual construction.
Facilities, Building Ages
The age of the district’s four schools and other buildings, such as its transportation facility are “important to note,” Lantier said.
Some parts of Somers Middle School, which was built in 1936, are approaching 90 years old. It was upgraded in 1950, 1990, and 2009.
Primrose, built in 1955, was upgraded in 1996 and 2000; Somers Intermediate School (circa 1971), in 1990 and 2007; and the high school, also built in 1971, was fixed up in 1990 and 2009.
The transportation facility and the district’s wastewater treatment plant were both opened in 2009.
“Like your house, things require maintenance and when you’re dealing with this many buildings this size, a lot of these items are just too large to incur under an annual maintenance budget,” Lantier said.
Speaking of the prioritization process as “painstaking,” he summarized the “all-in” project costs from the 2024 comprehensive plan for the board.
Those ranged from priorities 1 through 4.
There were no “life-safety” items identified at any of the buildings.
“We really didn’t have anything from the beginning. Anything that did come up was taken care of immediately,” Lantier said, adding that when he first presented the comprehensive plan’s outline a year ago, the project’s cost was estimated at $106 million.
“So, the team had its work cut out for it to try to bring that dollar value down to be more reasonable,” he said.
The approximate size of the capital project now stands at $64.1 million.
However, the bond that voters will act on in May is around $62 million – due to $1.8 million in capital reserve funds being factored in.
‘Tax Neutral’ Explained
Just because the capital project is “tax neutral” doesn’t mean school taxes aren’t going up; it just means that the bond or new debt itself isn’t going to add to community’s tax burden.
And why is that?
The payments on the new financing start at the same time that previous bonds will be paid off. This means that there will be “no additional costs” to taxpayers.
“It’s important to keep that level of debt consistent … so we don’t have wild swings in our tax rate,” Kandel explained, calling the state’s tax cap formula as “very complicated.”
Making sure that stakeholders are equipped with information about “needs and costs” before they vote on the bond is one of the district’s top priorities.
“This is going to be a big project. We haven’t had one in a long time and we want to make sure we’re communicating out to the public as much as possible,” she said.
Superintendent Harry LeFevre pointed out that, while there’s a lot of work that has to be done, the buildings “are safe.”
“They aren’t falling down. There’s no danger to students or staff of any of the buildings,” he said.
Next Steps
The process will unfold in several phases.
On Jan. 31, the Facilities Committee will provide its formal recommendations to the Board of Education.
A “Notice of Intent,” required under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), will be sent on by Feb. 11, the same day the board to set to vote on the actual “scope of work.”
There will be several public presentations on the bond project’s need and associated costs in early April and May.
The 2025-2026 budget and bond authorization votes are set for May 20.
(There will also be school trustee elections. Board members whose terms are expiring this June are Kandel, Chang, and BOE Vice President Chadwick Olsen.)
H2M and Triton are shooting for a June start for the design process.
In November, the district will submit plans to the state Education Department. That approval process normally takes about 21 weeks.
Construction could begin in June of 2026 and “substantial completion” could be achieved by September 2027.
The presentation noted that some items could required additional design and construction time “depending on the final scope.”
THE NUMBERS
Primrose
The total bill for Primrose work is estimated at $12,217,416.
Recommended for the interior are classroom improvements as well door, flooring, and bathroom upgrades.
The exterior requires weatherization, façade repairs, roof repairs, and front entrance canopy replacement.
Among the recommendations for site work are asphalt and curb/walkway replacement/repair, drainage improvements, and playground upgrades.
Its water system is functioning, but some parts are aging and need to be replaced.
The team is also recommending HVAC upgrades such as new classroom ventilator units, Roof Top Units (RTUs), and exhaust fans.
Primrose’s electrical system is in “satisfactory condition,” but panelboards and fire alarms should be replaced.
Somers Intermediate School
SIS upgrades are expected to cost $11,699,504.
Major identified needs include classroom improvements, new cabinetry, window and door replacements; and ceiling, bathroom, and flooring upgrades. The exterior needs weatherizing, façade and roof repairs, and a digital sign.
Also on the list are the replacement/repair of asphalt and curb and walkways as well as upgrades of its greenhouse area and playground.
Its potable water tank needs to be replaced and, while the HVAC is working it could use exhaust fan replacement and “humidity removal.”
Recommended for the electrical systems are panelboard/switchboard replacement, fire alarm upgrades, and an electric duct mounted heater replacement.
Somers Middle School
Recommended projects at Somers Middle School are estimated to cost $15,100,856.
They include classroom improvements, cabinetry and flooring upgrades, door replacements, STEM and art room upgrades, window/façade/roof replacement/repairs, new asphalt and walkways, and play area upgrades, heating/ventilation unit replacements and upgrades – including the gym’s and the auditorium’s air-conditioning, electrical panelboard/switchboard/fire alarm replacements.
Somers High School
The bill for all the recommended fixes at the high school comes in at $23,463,374.
Breaking that down, interior items identified cover: classroom improvements and upgrades to SHS’s doors, ceilings, flooring, upper gym, locker room, bathrooms, kitchen freezer, and auditorium.
The exterior needs weatherization, window replacement, and façade/roof repairs.
Asphalt, curbs and walkway, and drainage systems need replacing or repair. The track needs resurfacing, and the turf fields could use LED lights as well as a new press box.
No items were identified for the school’s water system, but its HVAC needs tweaking, especially in the Student Life Center, auditorium, wrestling room, and engineering lab. The lower-level boiler needs replacing.
Panelboard/switchboard replacements and fire alarm upgrades are also on the menu.
Transportation Facility
The cost of work needed at the transportation facility is estimate at $1,638,713. Its interior and exterior, water and HVAC systems were also rated satisfactory and not in need of repairs or replacements.
However, security camera upgrades were recommended as well as the replacement/repair of asphalt, the improvement of drainage and stormwater management, and the upgrading of the facility’s bus washing area.
Recently Removed Items
Lantier reiterated that after the process was initiated, Triton was brought in to look at the cost of construction and to assign each item a “value.”
About two months ago, the bottom line was winnowed down to $80 million.
After meeting with each school, the team put together a “tax neutral” plan, which dropped that number to $64.1 million.
According to Lantier, some of the items it “really struggled” with removing from the list including a four-classroom addition at PES.
At SIS, the initial evaluation had called for new exterior doors. After reconsidering, the team agreed that the district’s recent upgrade of “door hardware,” its security filming project, and its Energy Performance Contract, would give it a minimum five years more before the doors need replacing.
Also sidelined was a pick-up/drop-off lane between SIS and SMS.
“During parent pick-up times, we know it can be pretty chaotic out there,” Lantier said, adding that in the end costs outweighed the benefits.
Ditto certain improvements for the cafeteria, which everyone agreed was in “good shape” and currently “exceeding” operational needs.
A number of windows on the fix-it list were re-evaluated and determined to have at least five more years of use in them.\
Suggested third-floor bathroom upgrades were also set aside because the district has an elevator and is “currently in compliance” with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations, Lantier said.
The number of windows that needed attention was lowered and the scope of work on SHS’s wrestling room was reduced, but because there’s an “odor issue,” ventilation upgrades were retained.
At the transportation facility, it was determined that there were places that asphalt could be repaired instead of replaced.
The team also wrestled with the need for four EV bus chargers at the transportation facility.
New York is mandating that all school buses be 100 percent electric by 2035.
The goal is to reduce emissions that harm human health and contribute to climate change.
The main issue with the chargers was that there isn’t state “funding in place” for such project at present, Lantier explained, noting that while the bus technology is there, the charging side is “really trying to catch up.”
The team wasn’t able to identify “a clear benefit” to installing the bus charges now, he said.
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