Firm would pay for roof repairs at two schools
By Joanne Degnan, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE Workers at the Pond Road Middle School have been up on the snow-covered roof clearing out the gutters and drains in an effort to prevent further leaks in the gymnasium ceiling caused by melting snow.
But it’s often a losing battle against Mother Nature.
”I am sure that we will have water in the building over the next few days as we face more wet and icy weather,” Schools Superintendent Steve Mayer said in reference to the prolonged freezing rain forecasted for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Inside the school on Tuesday morning, tarps and buckets were at the ready just as they were when temperatures began to rise after the December blizzard causing heavy snow on the roof to melt and the gym ceiling to leak. The gym’s hardwood floors were quickly covered with tarps to prevent damage and the remaining home basketball games had to be relocated to Sharon School.
”The roof leaks and the melting snow exacerbates the problem,” Mr. Mayer said. “We have to be very proactive because once the temperature starts to rise, snow on a roof starts melting quickly.”
The Board of Education has been trying to find a way to replace the roofs at Sharon Elementary School and Pond Road Middle School since voters defeated a $39.6 million referendum last March that would have provided funds to build a new elementary school and finance major repairs at existing schools. The new roofs for Sharon, parts of which are more than 20 years old, and Pond, whose oldest section is 16 years old, are expected to cost about $2.5 million.
The school board last week voted to submit a solar photovoltaic project to the state Department of Education for approval that would essentially lease out the rooftops of Sharon School, Pond Road Middle School and the newer Robbinsville High School to a green technology investor. The company that gets the nod for the solar rooftop project would have to replace the roofs at Sharon and Pond at its own expense, not the district’s, prior to the installation of the photovoltaic panels.
The latest version of the plan includes installing a ground array of solar panels in a roughly 60-foot-by-100-foot field behind Pond Road Middle School that would be in addition to the rooftop panels at the three school buildings, Mr. Mayer said. The ground-mounted solar panels, which would be secured behind a fence, were added to the project to make sure the payout on solar energy generation is enough to make the precondition of requiring new roofs economically feasible.
If DOE approves it, the district hopes to advertise the project specifications and ask for RFPs (requests for proposals) sometime later this month. The goal is to be able award a contract as soon as possible so the roof repairs can be done this summer, Mr. Mayer said.