By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE – Board of Education members and administrators in the Millstone Township K-8 School District will ask voters to approve a multi-million dollar infrastructure project in a Dec. 13 referendum.
In a binding referendum, voters will be asked to approve the expenditure of $2.9 million to replace the roof on the Millstone Township Elementary School and on the Millstone Township Primary School.
All registered voters in Millstone are eligible to vote in the special election. Polls will open at 2 p.m. and close at 9 p.m. Residents will vote at their regular polling location.
District administrators said the total cost of the project will be $2.9 million, with $1.6 million budgeted for the primary school roof and $1.3 million budgeted for the elementary school roof.
If the referendum is approved, the cost would be covered by the issuance of $2.6 million in bonds and the appropriation of $338,442 from the district’s capital reserve, according to the referendum’s explanatory statement.
The referendum would add $56 for 10 years to the annual school taxes of a homeowner whose residence is assessed at the township average of about $532,000, according to district administrators.
Individuals pay more or less in municipal, school, county and fire district taxes depending on the assessed value of their home and/or property.
During the board’s meeting on Nov. 28, architect James Nichols and financial adviser Matt Sweeney of Phoenix Advisors presented information about the project.
Sweeney said the way the board is proposing to pay for the work will be more cost-effective than a lease, which would be split into two five-year leases and add $90 for 10 years to the property tax bill of an individual with a home assessed at the township average.
District administrators have said that by using the referendum process, the state will contribute $1 million toward the project in state aid over the 10-year term of the bonds and taxpayers will be responsible for $1.6 million of the project costs.
Nichols said the two roofs targeted for replacement are outdated and it has been reported the schools are experiencing leaks.
Most of the primary school roof dates to 1994 and has exceeded its 20-year life expectancy, according to Nichols. The top layer of the roof’s membrane has decomposed due to rain and ultraviolet light and the joints of the roof have become vulnerable to decay over time.
“The outer layer membrane is gone,” Nichols said. “You can see the fiberglass underneath.”
The elementary school roof was built in stages during the 1950s, 1980s and 1990s. The top layer of the roof has decayed and exposed the underlying membrane to weather, according to Nichols.
“The biggest problem is where the membranes are exposed,” he said. “Because of wind and water, the stone ballast on the roof is blown away and washed away. Where you don’t have stone, the membrane is exposed.”
Nichols, administrators and board members emphasized that the project is necessary. They said the work has the potential to become more expensive if it is put off because the roofs will sustain additional damage.
“The project will be bigger because there will be more to repair in the future,” Nichols said. “It is less expensive and strategically wise to begin the project now.”
“The roofs have to happen,” Superintendent of Schools Scott Feder said. “The longer we wait, the more it could cost.”
In a discussion of the impact the roof leaks have on the education of the students, administrators said school property is being damaged, air quality issues are being created and morale is being affected.
Board members and administrators said the leaks are causing safety concerns, with at least one reported instance of an individual slipping in a puddle.
“These roofs are in the process of failing,” board Vice President Kevin McGovern said.
“These are not drips,” board President Margaret Gordon said. “They are significant areas of damage. The leaks are there.”
If the referendum is approved by voters on Dec. 13, administrators will continue to advance the project with the expectation of awarding a bid in the spring of 2017. Work on the new roofs would begin shortly after a contractor is hired.
Business Administrator Bernard Biesiada said if the referendum is defeated on Dec. 13, the board could place the same question before voters a second time. If voters reject the plan again, district administrators could appeal to the state Department of Education to overrule the voters’ decision.
