001All right. Okay. Great. Welcome everybody. Uh this is our final capital project forum of the spring before we vote next week. Just a quick introduction. My name is Brendan Cardi. I'm a member of the board of education. I'm joined by our fellow communication committee member uh Jamie Fox, our head of the facilities committee Jim Kragan. Uh up on the deis we also have our superintendent of schools Megan Arjenio, our assistant superintendent for business John Frink and our director of facilities Walter Walter Moran. So tonight is I I just want to give you all the information that you need to make an informed decision next Tuesday. I'm mindful of how much information it is. So I'm going to try to give you the uh the high level and going into detail in the moments where it
002really matters, but I'm not not going to try to bury you with too much information because this has been a really a year-long process of putting this capital project together. And as you'll see, there are many different components, different propositions, u different aspects of the funding. So my goal coming out of this is that you're able to understand the choices that are in front of you and evaluate u which what you want to how you want to vote when you go into the booth on Tuesday. So uh we'll start with uh well just a as a bit of a preview. We'll do a little little review of how the funding will work. We'll talk about exactly what we are voting on. uh talk about what's in each project, the tax impact of those propositions, and
003then I want to actually show you the ballot so you can uh understand exactly what you'll see when you enter the booth. Okay, so a bit of a funding review. Uh starting in this kind of goes back a few years. So in the spring of 2022, we asked the community to approve a new $5 million capital reserve fund. If you recall, that was the year that we had the previous capital project. So on that same ballot was a measure asking the community to start a new capital reserve fund. So a capital reserve fund is essentially a savings account that you uh put aside dedicated solely for capital improvements uh to your facilities. So it money that's put into that fund is not used for academics. It's only used for those facility improvements. Now, what makes
004a capital reserve fund uh useful? Every dollar in your capital reserve fund will be matched by roughly $3 from the from the state on qualifying projects. That depend that can change per district. It depends on what your aid ratio is. In our district, it happens to be roughly 3 to one. So for every dollar you put in, you will get $3 from the state again on qualifying projects. So if you have a fully funded $5 million capital reserve fund, that means you'll get $15 million in state aid roughly, which will give you the ability to fund a roughly $20 million capital project without raising taxes. Okay, so we have that one capital reserve fund from 2022 that is full at $5 million, but we also have another capital reserve fund. Last spring, we asked the
005community to approve an additional $5 million capital reserve fund. Uh it is currently about halfway full with about $2.5 million in that fund. So with the again roughly 3 to1 aid ratio that 2.5 will be matched by up to 7.5 million in state aid which gives you an additional $10 million of purchasing power for a capital project. Which means you take that fund that fully funded reserve fund from 22 the roughly half-funded fund from last spring. Put those together, you've got a little bit north of $7.5 million in capital reserves. That's uh this slide always gets a little messed up with the uh the formatting here, but you add three times that of state aid, which is $22.5 million, and you're left with about $30 million of purchasing power uh based solely on the money
006that you have in those capital reserve funds. All right. So, that's $30 million that we can apply to capital improvements without raising taxes. But we also have another uh source of u purchasing power that is adding to our u our ability this year, which is uh expiring debt. So, in 2030, we'll be done paying off the debt that was used to build Cornwall Central High School. This will free up an additional $3.5 million per year roughly um which we can allocate towards capital improvements. So combined with the $30 million that we had in capital reserves plus this additional spending power, this gives us the ability to fund a roughly $55 million capital project uh without raising taxes. Now, something that we've gone over uh at length in previous forums is the amount of needs that
007we have in the district, and this stems from our building condition survey and just really years of accumulated needs. If we were to address everything in the district, it would far exceed $55 million. So, as as great as this is, it doesn't fully cover everything that we could do as a district. But obviously having the space to fund $55 million worth of projects without increasing taxes any further uh is a tremendous tool which we are using to uh which we are applying to this project. All right. So what are we voting on? Uh so at on May 19th which again a week from tomorrow the community will vote on the annual school budget and the capital project. The capital project, however, is broken up into three separate propositions, each one with a different tax impact.
008So, I mentioned before that $55 million that's going to cover a lot of the work that you're about to see, but then there are additional projects or parts of those projects that extend beyond that 55, which would be covered through tax increases. And I'm going to break down how uh each proposition kind of stacks up. So when you get to the ballot, I know in previous discussions we've always referred shorthand to the three propositions of the capital project as one, two, and three. But on the physical ballot, proposition one will be the school budget. So propositions 2, three, and four will be those three components of the capital project. So proposition two which is going to be is the largest uh component is the essential infrastructure uh proposition. Proposition three will cover classroom additions and
009proposition four will cover uh a new athletic field project at the high school. Now for the cost of each proposition two the total cost is $44.6 million. Proposition three, additional classrooms, is just over $21 million. And Proposition four, the athletic fields, is $14.6 million. Now, if you recall that $55 million of essentially room to fund projects without raising taxes, well, 44.6 Six of that 55 million is being applied to Proposition 2, which is why this proposition would come with zero additional taxes. Proposition three, the remaining uh 10 or so million dollars from that initial 55 would be applied to Proposition 3. So, which allows this prop to only require essentially a half uh to be half funded, excuse me, by a tax increase. We're calling that the partial tax impact. We'll break down what that
010means per household uh in a little bit. Proposition four, though, would require a full it would uh be funded entirely by an increase in taxes. And again we will break down how much that would mean uh per household. Okay. So I want to go into first um you know each proposition give you a sense of what we mean by you know essential infrastructure classrooms etc. So proposition two covers essential infrastructure improvements across all the district buildings uh including but not limited to critical safety upgrades at all five schools a new cafeteria at the middle school. explain more on that in a sec. A new parent drop off and driveway at the middle school, water mitigation measures at several schools, and long overdue improvements at Willow and CO elementary schools. This again, all of these projects
011uh together would come at zero additional uh tax uh impact to the community. So just go uh you know I don't want to spend too too much time on these but I want to quickly run through uh all of these different items of proposition two. So at the high school uh we'd be that first item constructing b bathrooms and concession stands next to the tennis courts. This was actually required for us to do. Uh when we finished the last capital project, we had we did not include the bathrooms at the uh the high school field for different funding reasons. Um but in order to get state approval this time around, we have to finish that part of the project. So the state will literally not approve this project if we don't include it, which is
012why we're leading off uh with that. Uh and then the the rest uh you know there's the floor decks of the south and uh replacing the south and central floor decks and reconstructing the retaining wall near the bridge. Um there's just a those we have some pictures up on the website which we'll share. Um you'll be able to see they're they're crumbling and there's just a lot of uh age related decay there. Uh the big items here are the fire alarm system and the PA system and clock system. These are very old. Uh and this is what we mean by the the safety measures. The systems have various levels of failure and problems at all five schools. But the essential message is they are unreliable. So it's uh difficult for administration to send messages through
013uh through the building throughout the day. There are um you know intermittent failures. Uh same thing with the fire alarm system. So replacing these systems is really about uh ensuring the safety the safe operations of the schools uh from a day-to-day basis. All right. This is a quick drawing of what those uh bathroom and concession stands could look like. This is uh where they would be located. So, uh that just gives you a little situation of the the field up on the top right. And so, we'd be looking in that that little uh little gap between the tennis courts and the current football field. All right, bringing us to the middle school. So this one, this is where the the bulk of the bigger ticket items are located. So the first thing is uh paving
014the rear service road and building a new parent drop off. Um I'm going to show pictures of that in a sec. And repaving the bus loop. This would be up the bus loop that meets uh Main Street and replacing sidewalks. Uh addressing some moisture penetration issues. Uh replacing a water service and backlo preu sanitary sewer lines. So this is some of that u you know water mitigation stuff that we had referred to earlier and the big item here on the bottom the kitchen and cafeteria uh addition. So, the current cafeteria is essentially crumbling. The the floor underneath um would need a full repair, a full replacement, and it's just not possible to take a cafeteria offline and have nothing uh no way to to serve those students, especially because the cafeteria at the middle school
015actually serves two of our elementary schools, CO and Willow. So in order to address that very pressing need of this failing floor underneath the cafeteria um in particular underneath the kitchen at the middle school uh we've decided to instead of building a satellite cafeteria that you know would be u just a stop gap measure as we fix this one. We're going to build a new cafeteria as an extension to the building. And then when that's done, instead of just repairing the current cafeteria and kitchen, going to convert that to new academic space. So, uh it's kind of a win-win on in that regard where you're not only uh addressing that very urgent cafeteria and kitchen need, but you are creating more uh academic space for the the school, which uh speaking to Mrs. Palumbo, our
016our principal at the middle school. Uh the school is in great need of. Okay. Um additional items on uh at the middle school, staff bathrooms, gutters, uh the fire alarm system and PA system, similar issues that I mentioned before. This is out uh these are very outdated systems, unreliable, and replacing them is uh really a matter of school safety. Okay, so these are I want to show some pictures of the current back road that connects the Lee Road parking lot to the back of the middle school. So, this is connected to that item of the uh the the the rear uh parent drop off. So, currently this is, you know, it's more or less a a dirtgravel road. Uh it's getting it gets the the potholes are uh for anybody that has has driven on
017this uh the potholes are uh severe. I mean it's hardly a serviceable road. Um you know it's it's used we we can try to put uh you know limits on it but I've always said it's like water finding its level. you know, like drivers, uh, parents that are picking up are always trying, uh, you know, the the most direct way to get to their child. So, if they're picking up their child, uh, in the afternoon coming from sports, there's just a lot of traffic on this road that for a road that is just not built for was never really intended for this level of use. So, the plan is to pave this back road, which again is being used anyway, and have it as a serviceable paved road that would serve as a new drop
018off for just parents to the back of the building. Currently, both parents and buses are dropping off every student every morning at the front of the building, or at least they're that's the the design. And the congestion at the front of the building is intense. There are major backups onto Main Street. It creates a lot of safety issues as the staff of the middle school attempts to keep parent cars away from buses and kids getting out of parent cars away from buses and vice versa. Um it is a huge logistical challenge. We have a video actually on our website and social media that where uh Kate Palumbo, our middle school principal speaks uh in great detail about this. I would encourage anyone to watch this about the level of difficulty uh and safety challenge that
019this presents. This project would move the parents to the back of the build entering through the back of the building. The buses would continue dropping off at the front which would greatly alleviate just the sheer number of cars that are going to one pressure point. Um and it would at the same time bring this dirt service road that has just been become this de facto road uh in the back of the building and bring that up to a more uh serviceable level so that it is built to withstand the traffic that it's currently taking and then can take even more. Uh this picture also shows or this sketch also shows where that new cafeteria would be. So that's if you're looking at uh the the building currently on this picture, it's the top left. So
020if you're on Main Street, it's behind the building to the right. And we're also uh featuring a another part of the uh capital project. It's going to be in Proposition three. The top right of this image, you'll see a little portion in red. Those are new classrooms. And then connecting Megan, I always get my uh wings mixed up. I believe that's the DNA. They connecting the DNA wing. Um tag that in your memory because we're going to cover that in a second. So, a lot would be happening at the middle school. Um a lot of it in Proposition 2. But again, the bus loop, the rear, the repaving the front bus loop, repaving the back uh service road, and creating the new cafeteria, creating the new drop off. All of those would be covered under
021Proposition Two, which again, as you see on the left there, has zero tax impact. And this is what the uh a little sketch of what the actual uh cafeteria would look like. Again, this was that portion in the top left of the previous image. And then this would be converting the uh existing cafeteria and kitchen into new academic space. So, it's really cafeterias because you have the uh current cafeteria on the bottom right which would be uh proposed as new wrestling adaptive PE space. The current kitchen could be turned into bathrooms. Uh music storage. You've got just to calibrate where you are, you've got the the theater would be just off uh to the left here if the image was extended. uh and then turning that uh the other uh portion of the cafeteria into
022an art classroom and general music classroom. So, uh a real uh dramatic increase in square footage of academic space and because it's right next to the auditorium where a lot of our art programs are already convening, it just makes a lot of sense to turn those into additional art classroom space. Okay, moving on to this this building. We're currently in Cornwall Elementary at Lee Road. Um I think the biggest item here would be that repaving that driveway from Lee Road. This would actually be connected to the project that you just saw at the middle school. Anyone that's familiar with these schools know that they are all one campus. So that back road would just continue uh and that repave that repavement would just continue into the driveway that leads into Lee Road. uh additional fencing
023at playground areas. Uh a a sensible addition when you know you've got all of these K through4 kids. Um a bunch of uh I don't want to get too far in the weeds here. I think uh once you start, you can't stop. Uh in our previous our previous forum, we we did a total deep dive. So, anybody that is looking for the blowby-blow granular uh expression of all these, I would encourage you to just go back to that previous form. Uh Lero is also going to get a new fire alarm system and PA system similar to the other schools. Uh Willow Aav Elementary. Um so big item here in the back. Uh if you're familiar with the the back is like a really small parking lot along the uh right side of the property uh
024as you're you know going behind the school. So that would be expanded. Um it would require some shifting of the the softball field to make room for that. Uh repaving the bus loop out front. Again, another piece of infrastructure that is just uh well beyond its its usable life. Um and then a few more items here. Adding air conditioning to the auditorium. Uh this was I categorize this under uh long overdue improvements. Um you know having uh being in the those auditoriums early in the school year and then late in the school year when it's very hot uh is just not sustainable. And then also the uh PA system at Willow as well. Moving on to Cornwall on Hudson. Another air conditioning at the auditorium. Again, just stifling in that in those rooms during September
025and and then May and into June. Uh replacing the remaining bathrooms uh at that school and then the PA system as well. And then buildings and grounds uh getting a four bay garage. This is to protect a lot of the uh the service vehicles that are used to uh really service the entire district. So, um it's more of a preservation of the infrastructure that we already have as opposed to these trucks uh sitting out in the snow and rain for 12 months a year. Having a place to store them uh would extend their life and you know ultimately uh be a good investment uh or it would pay back the investment in the the longevity of those items. District office. This is the um office in Cornwall and Hudson would get full window replacement. A
026lot of these windows are old and drafty. And again, replacing the windows is one of those things that pays for itself over time with uh just energy savings. Uh addressing the lack of ADA building access uh at the front. Anybody who's familiar with those steps know that they can be very difficult to get up and down. Uh replacing the water service, backflow preer, fire alarm system, etc. So, a ton of work around the district. Again, we have a much deeper dive in a previous forum for those who are looking for an explanation of each item. Proposition number three. So, this is the additional classroom proposition. So, there are three schools that would be affected by this. Um, you know, just big picture on this, there are some pressure points throughout the district that for, you
027know, where adding classrooms would have a real outsized impact. and that was what we were looking for in the planning process. Um, this is where overcrowding and just unique learning environments have created these needs. Cornwall Elementary School uh is right at the top of that list. This would this proposition would provide eight new classrooms. We'll talk in a second about uh where those would be. Cornwall on Hudson Elementary School would get a new cafeteria. The cafeteria at at CO is very small. it's really not big enough to service all of the kids at the same time. Uh in that while addressing that, we would also uh add new classrooms as well. A lot of that would come down to what the uh the execution of that project is, but I think it's somewhere in the
028zone of like two classrooms would probably be added. And then at Cornwall Central Middle School, uh this was the project that I alluded to earlier with that uh the connecting of the B and E-wing in the process of a D and E wing. In the process of doing that, we would be adding three new classrooms. That's on top of, by the way, the new classrooms that would be added in proposition two with the conversion of the current cafeteria. Now, roughly half of this project is tax neutral, meaning half of it would be covered with the remaining money that was in our was funded through our capital reserve funds. The other half would require a tax increase. I'll go over that in a second. So, um, for a property assessed with an assessed value of $300,000,
029now assessed value means is usually going to be lower than your market value. Just so um I in order to understand what your assessed value is, the only way is to really look through the town assessment roles. But we're using this as just a a marker. Anyone can can judge uh you know against their own value themselves. But this would be uh Prop 3 would add $180 per year, which is about $15 per month. Again, for an assessed value of 300,000. Uh that number would go up or down depending on what your actual assessed value is. Now, what would be in that proposition? Uh, again, these are just a little bit more of a deeper look at at what I just outlined. So, Cornwell Elementary School, that that's a four on four, so four classrooms
030above, four classrooms below, which is consistent with the architecture of the rest of the building. Uh, Cornwall on Hudson Elementary would get that cafeteria and then additional classrooms. And Cornwall Central Middle School connecting those wings and getting those three additional classrooms. This is a overhead shot of Cornell Elementary. So that 4 over4 would be in the bottom right corner of the building. So if you are looking at the building from the parking lot, this is the the back right. Just a word on on this. Um you know, you can say, well, why do you need eight classrooms? The uh the enrollment at at Cornell Elementary School has continually gone up each year that I've been on the board. Um, we've had to add new classrooms uh or new classes almost every year. Uh, hiring new
031teachers for this school has been a regular uh item on our budget. Uh, part of that is because as more kids of elementary age have come into the district, the other schools are maxed out for space. So CES has been the one that has kind of accepted the overflow, for lack of a better word, uh, of those students. So, it's taken on a lot more uh students and and classroom sizes are higher and the number of classrooms are higher than they were um even a few years ago. It's also the school that uh has is most able to address different educational needs. So there are uh when we talk about adding eight new classrooms uh whether it's through alleviating the uh studenttoteer ratio let's say of of different classrooms or just having space to offer
032these other kinds of um learning environments. This is it's a need that would be filled very quickly um at here at CES. Now at CO, this is where the cafeteria would be at the the rear of the building, uh, which is where the current cafeteria is. So it would basically just be, you know, uh, rebuilding that and expanding it and in the process of doing that, adding more space. Um, this would really help also address some of the previous problem I just mentioned, how these schools, CO and Willow are they're they're so old and they're essentially capped out in space. So, they cannot take on um, you know, any increase in numbers. This would allow them to to take on incre a small increase in numbers again to alleviate some of the spac space space
033issues around the district um and to provide just a little bit more of an even distribution throughout the schools. And here's another look again at what that would look like at the middle school. Uh exactly what we referred to before, connecting those wings in the back right and then adding uh three classrooms in the process. Uh I just want to speak on one thing. Um and again this is I encourage you to watch the uh the videos of all of these propositions but Mrs. Palumbo spoke uh very eloquently about this part of the project uh when we spoke with her and her point was these buildings when they were designed I think this building was designed back in the 50s um it wasn't it it was a different educational environment a lot of kids would
034come and go from school um now they are when they're in the building they are in the building the entire day and when you have parts of your building that just don't connect. It's not built for the purpose. It it it was not built for the purpose that it is currently being used for. So, this would just I think uh you know make this building more closely aligned with the way that the building is currently being used, the way that educational environments are currently designed. uh as opposed to trying to retrofit everything into a 1950s uh vision of what educational needs would be. Okay. So, proposition number four, uh this is the new multisport athletic fields at the high school. So, the idea here is to relocate the baseball and softball fields, create a multisport
035synthetic turf field for baseball, soccer, softball, and lacrosse. Um, this would not only benefit those sports, but a side benefit, greatly reduce the stress on the turf football field, which now that it has been built and is is open for business, uh, every team is trying to get on it for obvious reasons. It's the only reliable playing surface, you know, on after weather and things like that. So, uh, having, uh, another field that would be reliable, uh, would take the stress off of the current field while also giving those other sports a more, uh, you know, consistent practice schedule. This whole project would require a tax increase, though. So, if we go back to that mental map, we've got that $55 million. 44 and a half was used on prop one or prop two, excuse
036me, 10 of it was used on Prop Two. Now, there's nothing left in that pot of money. So, this would require uh a tax increase to fund the entire project. And what would that mean? So, for a property assessed again at 300,000, that would be $225 per year, which is about $1875 per month. Now, that's just a more granular view of what we just described. This is what the pro this is what the field would look like. So top right is the football field, a little bit cut off. To the left of that is the uh current baseball field and then the softball field down below. Um and then it would abut the tennis courts on the bottom right. So the idea here is to build one foot in in one footprint have the baseball
037field uh on the left there, softball field on the right, and then in the shared outfields would be where you would have the soccer and lacrosse field. This uh again $14.6 million project, but now you're you're all of this would be synthetic turf. So you're giving, you know, 12 month uh playability essentially uh to these sports whereas currently the baseball team and softball team um you know their seasons are supposed to start I I believe they start practicing in February but because they even if they can you know get on a field um every time it rains it's not just putting that field out for the day could be putting that field out depending on the rain for days if not a whole week uh because of drainage. age issues just in this area. So
038those those teams would be able to access the this field as long as there wasn't, you know, snow on the ground or or something. They could get on that field. Um and again, it's taking the pressure off of the other uh turf field that we have so that we don't just wear that down, you know, shortly after uh opening it to all of the athletic programs. Okay. Now, I want to talk a little bit about like what the we've reviewed the tax impact. I want to go over that again uh just so everybody is super clear on what the choices are. So again, Proposition two, no tax impact. Proposition three, half of it would be covered with the tax increase, half of it would be covered with the remaining money in the capital reserve funds.
039Proposition four, the athletic fields, full tax impact. What does that mean per household? So, this one's pretty obvious, but if uh Proposition 2 were to pass, if you have an assessed value of 300,000 or anything, that's $0 per year, which is $0 per month. For a property with an assessed or for proposition number three, for property with an assessed value of 300,000, that's $180 per year, about $15 per month. And for the proposition number four, because that's a full tax impact, that's $225 per year and $1875 per month. Now, the the way that the ballot is constructed, it is a waterfall ballot. So, in order for Proposition 3 to pass, Proposition two needs to pass. In order for Proposition 4 to pass, the other two would have to pass. So when you're looking at these
040tax impacts, it's best to understand like how those affect each other and what your choices are. In other words, you can't say, "Well, I don't like uh I I don't believe in funding um Proposition 3, but I believe in funding Proposition 4." Well, that wouldn't if everybody acted that way, then it wouldn't uh Proposition 4 would not pass because it can only pass if the previous two pass. So, let's look back at this tax impact now with that in mind. So really the the uh possible outcomes are if only Prop 2 passes. Again, that's easy. That's $0 per month. Putting a note on the bottom here, the annual budget for a similar property would raise taxes about $25 a month. So factor these into your your mental math. If props two and three pass, which
041again is the only way that prop three could pass, both of them pass, that would be the $15 per month for Prop 3 plus the zero for Prop 2. That's easy. So that's uh an additional $15 per month. And then if all three pass that would be the cumulative uh total of the classrooms plus the athletic field which comes to 30 again for property assessed at 30 300,000 uh about $34 per month. So, I just want you to understand, you know, what the real possible outcomes are and how that would impact local taxes. For a more detailed breakdown of where the tax increases are at different assessed value intervals, we're leaving this uh on the slide and we're going to post this so anybody can uh access this entire presentation. Again, to understand what your
042assessed value is, you would have to go to the town tax roles to get the accurate number. But together, this would give you a a very clear picture of what your tax impact would be. Okay. Now, for the vote itself, uh this is the ballot. Uh it's too small, I'm sure, to read here, but it will again be on the presentation that we share. Proposition one, that's just the normal language per year for the annual budget. Proposition two, again that is the essential infrastructure part which would have zero tax impact. Proposition three, a lot of words there, but that's the classroom addition. That's half covered by the capital reserve fund, half covered by tax increase. Proposition four, that is the athletic fields uh covered by a full tax increase. And the when and where Tuesday
043May 19th, that's a week from today if you're watching this live. 6:00 am to 900 pm Cornwall Central Middle School Gymnasium. Uh same location that we've had it for the last few years. And with that, I will open the floor to any questions. >> Oh, yes. >> Hi. Um, can you hear me? I have to say I was talking to Jim. The newsletter is kind of confusing because you you said there's going to be four ballots for a proposition, but on the newsletter it says three. Um, even the numbers look kind of confusing off because it says uh proposition two, which is actually one $60 per assessment when you said it was something different. Many people get their information like myself through newsletter and probably not watching this. So if they're see this and see
044the numbers, they're like that's not good. So I just want to point that out that thankfully Jen corrected uh helped me out on that. Um next question uh first question I really want just like the other capital project. When will all this work be done? Will it be done off school during the summer during breaks? Is it's a it feels like it's a lesser degree to the big one that we had not too long ago. So when will that be done? I'll address the first one first and then I'll I'll pass it off to Smarter Minds. Yeah, the um when we set the when we were planning the project, it was prop one, prop two, prop three. But then when it came time to actually draft the legal ballot there, it just didn't line up.
045And now we're we frankly are in, you know, public correction mode on like what ballot or what prop is refers to what part of the project. So, we will have um we'll we'll be pushing out a lot of just static images uh this week of just clarifying which prop is associated with >> Yeah. Well, that I want to Can you clarify what what math problem you're talking about because it might have been >> Yeah. >> And I think that the the number is just using different assessed values. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so $60 per assessed value and that's talking of the yearly impact. So it's the same math. It's just cut differently. So it's initially for Proposition two, which was represented, you know, on the ballot as Prop 3. That's where that was the number
046$180 per year, which is $15 per month. So this is representing it as $60 per hundred of assessed value. So 60 * 3 is 180. >> What's that? >> That's more informed. That's more eye-catching in the negative way versus >> Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's it's it's two ways of of slicing the pie. I mean, it's the same math that it it equals the the same number, but um yeah, I mean, to your point, we will be clarifying exactly what the the uh props are on the ballot. But you had a good second question about, you know, when the the work would take place. So I'll pass that to John and perhaps Walter for that. >> Yep. Walter can jump in and join me on that one. So we are already in the planning stages
047kind of started to preliminary um script out how this construction would take place over the course of likely four to five different phases and will take four probably four years in construction. It's our hope to start next summer um because we are already employed with certain submissions right now. For example, um one of the easier submissions would be the bathroom concession stand at the high school. Um and you look at some of the other projects with respect to paving. Well, we could do paving pretty easily and pretty readily, but we may have um a sewer line running underneath. So, we need to make sure that we're bidding out these projects. So, we are currently in the process of uh designing the phase of this. So, we would do a lot during the summer um as
048much as we possibly can and there is work that can be done on second shift. So after school hours and in in the evening before the building closes at 10:30, 11:00 at night, they wrap up shop and they move on and clean up. >> Oh, my final question. Thank you. Um, with the athletic field, I remember with the big one in 22, maybe I correct me if I'm wrong, it felt like everything or nearly everything was going to be done, the football field and the baseball field because I remember it was a drainage issue. So to my surprise, it's like I thought that would have been completed, but apparently it's not what happened with prop with the athletic field while we're going back to fixing. I thought it was already corrected. >> Yeah. So I
049think the uh I'll pass it off in a second, but just to go back to the discussion about the 22, it was building the obviously the turf field, the football field, um and then addressing drainage at the baseball field. It wasn't about redoing the baseball field like the baseball field would would it was always the plan to keep it as it was, but the hope was that in addressing the in in building the football field that you would mitigate some of that those drainage issues. Um, at this point, I mean, do you want you have anything to add as to, you know, why The impact was towards the outfield of the baseball field which the drainage system from the turf field was located right there. So that had to be excavated. The new drainage for
050that field was installed there and then restoration of that work was done and that was primarily what is known as the soccer field. that was the varsity soccer field which is also shared as the um the outfield of the baseball field. So that was really uh what was impacted on that and what we bought as an owner was just restoration after that drainage was installed. >> I'm going to jump in as well because I think um he's hearing um we're saying drainage issues over at the high school. Again, we are we do have other drainage issues over on the softball where the current softball field is um that we need to address. So, that will be addressed if we were if Proposition 4 uh were to be completed is there's a large pooling area over
051in that outfield of the softball field that would get addressed by doing the synthetic turf area. Well, My question is for the athletic fields, baseball, softball, lacrosse are all the same season. What good does the lacrosse field and the baseball and soft field outfield do? >> So, we'd be doing a multi-purpose field. Um, and so we asked the athletic director, what would we include on that? and and um that would be up to the rotational schedule and practices for those teams. So we saw one rendering up there, one drawing up there, one possibility for that. Um there are other possibilities that exist. Um so we could have conceivably a softball and a baseball field go playing at the same time, but obviously not lacrosse. Um but it would still be available as a practice area
052depending on times schedules. It also allows some of our younger players like our JV lacrosse team for example, you could be having a varsity lacrosse game on the uh football field which is happening now and then have a JV game happening on the lower fields or have a male and female switch um for both teams happening at the same time. >> They're softball needs to practice, baseball needs to practice, lacrosse practicing, they all can't be the same. Yeah, that that's scheduling. That would be all scheduling for the athletic director. Um, as as the fields are planned right now, we actually have them planned for um inclusive of lighting as well. So, if we have to shift times, if we're going to do games right after school, great. We'll do games right after school, then practices
053will go at night. But um or vice versa, you switch and you go games under uh lights on both fields and practices can happen right after school. But again, that that goes to scheduling for the athletic department. So a series of questions. The first one is about the matching funds from the state. So you mentioned about qualifying expenditures. Is it the rule that the original 7.5 million have to be spent on qualifying expenditures and all the matching funds on qualifying expenditures meaning qualifying projects? >> Can you repeat that again real quick? >> So qualifying expenses. >> So qualifying means obviously not everything is reimbured by the state. It depends on that is why we are in a cafeterium not a cafeteria because one would qualify and one would not generally speaking. So my point about
054it is so is the 7.5 million that you spend the original district money have to be entirely qualifying to get the full matching 3 to one. So with respect to the cafeteria, the proposed addition in cafeteria, >> I'm not just talking about the cafeteria. I'm asking overall that money has to be spent on things that the state certifies as being qualifying, right? And then you get the matching funds and does the entirety of the matching funds can only be limited to qualifying projects. >> All all of our projects are qualifying projects. is the the bathroom by the football field is a qualifying project. >> That is not one. >> Correct. Thank you for the correction. >> I I I'm only saying because it would seem that the usually the standard for qualifying is that it's
055in somehow connected to instructional use. That's that's why I'm saying that doesn't seem to be connected. That's why >> No, it's because it's not uh educational use. You're correct. So that the bathroom and the concession stand is not a qualifying one and that would be a full >> burden to bear for this. >> And so this is my this is the the real question which is so in proposition two we have the garage for the building and grounds. We have a cafeteria and I know that there are different spaces on that and then we have also let's say the bus loop in the first proposition two. Do we have assurances from the state that that's all qualified? >> Uh we are going through what's called the preliminary submission process at this point where we have
056meet with the state and review all the scopes of the projects proposed projects and we will know what we will receive with respect to qualifying. >> Right? So obviously there's different revenue streams going into this and money is fungeable but this is where I'm wondering so clearly for the project as a whole if two three and four pass there's plenty enough qualifying projects because proposition three is classroom space so probably presumably and I know that we haven't fully even calculated that in at least the last time that I I we there was discussion about it so my question though is If Proposition 3 fails, do we have sufficient qualifying projects to actually have all this money actually matched by the state if the $3.8 million on the the bathroom? So that's 4 million of the
05744 million is not qualifying as you as you just said. and the cafeteria, which that's why we have cafeteriators and cafeterias generally doesn't always qualify, a bus loop and the buildings and grounds. And I'm wondering total that's $20 million of the 44 million. So I'm wondering if that doesn't qualify ultimately by the state who's on the hook once we approve that as a capital project. And you said like three is dependent on two, but like the cost of two depends partially on whether three passes. because that's where the bulk of clear the clearly qualifying projects are. >> Sorry, John. I know this is a little bit convoluted, but it just occurred to me. >> And and um if you recall from the uh facilities committee meeting, we talked about the cafeteria at the middle school
058being qualifying. They've already given us a ruling about that. So, we did discuss that in the facilities committee. >> So, the qual it is qualified >> there a portion of it and then we're looking to get more aided back by the uh renovation of the current cafeteria. Again, that was also part of the discussion, >> but that's a separate >> you were correct about the bathroom and the uh concession stand not being aidable. Um, you also we also want to recall that we have expiring debt in 2030, right? >> Which which is roughly 44 or 45 million that that Proposition One is. So, we're able to replace that pretty readily. So, so like, so you're saying the amount of the qualifying is, but the point is that right now it's being spread. That's why some
059are full tax, no tax impact, partial tax impact. >> Even if even if one uh Proposition two, use the right terms, goes through, we're going to be paying the same in debt service by 2030, >> right? >> There will be no noticeable discernable difference in people's So if I recall from facilities committee where we had obviously the architects who were in communication with state ed who approves these projects and approves what's aidable or not as well as bond council we actually took very conservative estimates on proposition three the additional classrooms where we assumed that they were not going to get state aid. I believe for all three of those. Um so we assumed a worst case scenario. There actually is a scenario we do get some portion of aid on those um and it ends
060up slightly better for um our taxpayer either in terms of uh less expenditure or we're able to do more work. >> That's correct. So, that's the part of the preliminary submission process that we're going through right now that we're poised to enter into where we say to the state, we're putting together all these documents um and they will tell us and then we'll make a ruling on if we will get more aid on those classrooms or not. But our approach had to say to our taxpayers, this is the worst case scenario that you'll be in. So, in 6 months, 8 months, a year, we could potentially turn around and say to our taxpayers, you are not getting this entire tax burden. you're getting actually less. Saying that publicly is difficult to say because we don't
061know what that is. >> And I just wanted to add one um additional comment on Proposition 3. And I think Brendan, you talked about this in in some of the earlier forums, but uh the the CO cafeteria bumpout, while that doesn't technically add classrooms, um the way it works right now is there are converted classrooms across the hall from the cafeteria where they're uh doing dishes and distributing uh food that can be bought back into the cafeteria rather than have kids bring dirty trays across the hallway. So, while it technically doesn't add classrooms, it allows you at least one and potentially two classrooms to be readded that were taken away at some point. Um, just important for the public to know that. >> Anybody else? All right. Well, thank you everybody for attending and and
062the insightful questions. Um again, we'll post the presentation that we shared online. Uh we'll send it out tomorrow. Also post it on our Facebook page. Also, uh we'll be sharing out information as we get closer to the vote. Just things to clarify some of the proposition uh specifics. And please just keep in mind next Tuesday 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. If you have a friend who needs a ride, offer it. Um, we'll be there early and late. And if you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]. Great. Oh, yeah. Thank you, Jamie. And if you are going to be uh out of town on election day, you can vote early. So, just swing by the district office and they'll take care of all that paperwork for you.
063Thank everybody. Have a good night.