By linda denicola
Staff Writer
MILLSTONE — Members of the Board of Education spent hours last week poring over line items, adding up to the cost of school construction projects that will be presented to the public in referendum form in September.
Included in the plans is the construction of a new middle school and overhauling the current elementary and middle schools. Under the plan, the current elementary school would house grades K-two, while the current middle school would be used for grades three-five.
After discussing the merits of two design plans for the 160-acre Waters Nursery property, which is proposed to be used for the new middle school, the board chose the larger of the two, the 153,536-square-foot "pinwheel" plan and authorized the submission of the plan to the state Department of Education for review. The Waters Nursery property is located between Baird and Roberts roads.
They also accepted three quotes and chose one contractor for a traffic study at the current middle school on Millstone Road, at a cost of $6,000.
Architect Tom Townes, from the Thomas Group of Princeton, said during the discussion that the only difference between the two plans for the middle school is size. The pinwheel plan is larger by approximately 5,000 square feet, but both schemes provide for a possible new building that could also accommodate the planned auditorium, he explained.
The board would like to build a $3 million auditorium that would be used for cultural events and large meetings, but they have not decided whether to include it in the referendum or let voters decide on it separately. They agreed that an auditorium may become an alternate question for another time, but for now they have to determine the budget for the new school’s construction by July, two months in advance of the referendum ballot.
Although officials know that the amount that voters will be asked to approve in September cannot be determined until figures come back from the state on how much aid the project will receive, officials said the majority of the project could qualify for state aid of up to 40 percent of the cost.
The Township Committee previously agreed to appropriate up to $6 million in funds for purchase of land for the new school. Part of the property may be used to expand recreation opportunities in the township.
Where the new middle school will be built is still up in the air, but the Waters Nursery property is being investigated as a prime location. Right now, according to the property owners attorney Gregg Pesciotta, Freehold, there is a "firm and binding" contract by Orleans Builders to purchase the land.
Although condemnation is an option, Superintendent of Schools William Setaro said previously that the district wants to negotiate in good faith with a willing seller.
In the meantime, the school board is working on the job of developing a financial plan to present to voters in April and a preliminary design plan to use as a guide.
Officials spent most of the last board meeting whittling away at the cost of the construction. Board President Linda O’Reilly said during the meeting, "There are a lot of items on the list that we need to know about. We need to know what they are and why the cost." She asked if it would be possible to have some things, like painting, done in-house.
Board Secretary Brian Boyle responded that there are only two maintenance personnel that can do that kind of work and it might be hard to do it all over a summer.
O’Reilly questioned items like vehicular access and improvements to the parking lot at the current elementary school, which will become a K-2 school under the new plan.
Townes said they will be making some modifications to the curve for buses.
O’Reilly asked what the reduction in cost for the elementary school’s kindergarten classroom bathrooms entailed. Townes replied they reduced the size of the bathrooms from 7,200 square feet to 4,500 square feet. At $75 a square foot that constitutes a significant reduction, he said.
A couple of residents, who live near the Waters Nursery site, said they were concerned about the proximity of athletic fields to their homes. They were told that the positioning of the buildings may not be anything like what is shown on the preliminary plans.
Previously, officials said the highest estimated cost for the total project is $45,875,000.
The rough estimate of the cost to build a new middle school is $36,750,000. Including the auditorium would bring the cost up to $40,025,000.
The cost to add six classrooms and renovate the current elementary school is estimated to be $2.7 million, while renovations to the existing middle school would weigh in at $3,150,000, officials said.