SAYREVILLE – The Sayreville School District will use capital reserve funds to finance the significant increase in contract costs to build a transportation complex on Cheesequake Road.
Spiezle Architectural Group Inc., Trenton, is performing work on the preliminary design of the transportation complex, which is intended to address a growing student population by increasing the number of buses, school officials said.
The Sayreville Board of Education (BOE) approved a resolution for a $104,840 increase to the contract from $399,800 to $444,640 during a recent board meeting.
The funds will be taken out of the capital reserve funds. Any funds not used will be returned to the capital reserve, according to district administrators.
The transportation complex will be constructed on the northbound side of Cheesequake Road, across from the Center for Lifelong Learning and between athletic fields and DuPont properties.
The original resolution for the transportation complex contract was approved in December 2021. In the original resolution, the transportation complex was considered for the Jesse Selover Elementary School, Woodland Avenue.
The Selover location for the transportation complex was met with objection from residents because the school grounds contain a baseball and softball complex. One of the fields is dedicated to Pfc. Wayne “Butch” Grant, a Sayreville resident who was killed during the Vietnam War in 1967.
Following the objection from residents, the resolution was amended to remove mention of Selover.
The Cheesquake Road location was designated as the new location of the transportation complex after a joint meeting between the BOE and the Borough Council. Both entities approved a memorandum of understanding that allows the district to lease the property on Cheesequake Road for the transportation complex.
The baseball and softball complex will be leased by the borough under the memorandum of understanding, which will ensure the fields are preserved.
In addition to the transportation complex, the board approved the $1.65 million lease purchase of 17 new buses in August 2021.
