Politics & Government

Borough Board Votes 8-1 in Support of NHS Renovation Plan

Proposal to renovate Naugatuck High School would cost $81 million, however the borough would only be responsible for $24-$35 million, depending on how much the state will reimburse back.

In a best-case scenario, Naugatuck would only pay approximately $24 million toward the $81 million final cost associated with a complete, three-year renovation of Naugatuck High School.

The worst case: the cost would climb up to $35 million.

The price tag toward overhauling Naugatuck's flagship school was one of many topics addressed during a lengthy Board of Mayor and Burgess meeting Tuesday, as borough officials consider a plan to go to a referendum on the proposal on Nov. 8. The proposal is a renovate-to-new project, meaning the grades 9-12 school would be brought up to code with all state and federal regulations, while at the same time fixing some of the problems that have plagued the school for years.

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Cracks would be fixed, new windows would be installed, the locker rooms would be relocated, a new area would be constructed where the plaza is and several other adjustments would be made, according to the plan. Superintendent John Tindall-Gibson said the district has tried to maintain some of the problems over the years, however that has proven harder as years go on.

"There’s a lot of work put into maintaining that building," said Superintendent John Tindall-Gibson during the meeting. "And it's getting to a point where it’s more and more expensive to maintain."

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The project is billed at $81 million, however Naugatuck can be reimbursed up to 75 percent of that.

Following a presentation by the architect Kaestle Boos, as well as a near-hour discussion, the board voted 8-1 to advance the plan to the Board of Finance and then the joint Board of Finance and Board of Mayor and Burgesses.

The next step, if it passes those boards, would be to set a public hearing before the referendum.

The cost of the project took up a large portion of the burgess’ discussion. According to Kaestle Boos architects David King and Freddy Khericha, the worst-case scenario figure is built upon the fact that the current high school is actually too large for its student population.

In the 2011-12 school year, Naugatuck High School has 1,311 students, which is already a low number compared to the size of the 305,000 square-foot building. With that number going down, the possibility the state will reimburse at the total 75-percent rate — meaning Naugatuck would only pay $24 million for the project — also goes down.

But that’s the risk of the project, the architects noted. They said the proposal still costs less than building a brand new high school — which costs $106 million with a lower reimbursement rate — and would cost the same in total if the borough opted to just make annual repairs over the next few years — such as fixing the cracks, installing new lockers and dealing with the dilapidated floors.

Burgess Ron San Angelo was the only dissenting vote on continuing the plan, and he made his opposition clear during the discussion period. San Angelo said that while he has always supported education initiatives during his years in office — he was mayor from 2003-07 — he said he didn’t think this plan was coming at the right time.

San Angelo said he had concerns with whether it’d be a better economic decision to just build a new high school rather than try and spend the money on the renovate-to-new proposal.

“It concerns me of the speed at which we’re acting,” San Angelo said. “We really haven’t analyzed this new versus renovation project.”

He added, “What concerns me is how is Naugatuck going to face this right now?”

San Angelo, a Republican, went on to cite the unemployment rate in Naugatuck — which is pushing 11 percent — and the fact that a large majority of residents voted overwhelmingly against the budget in the recent referendum (the budget passed, however, because not enough voted at all to validate the referendum). He also said he knows many people who have lost their homes and cannot afford a higher tax increase to accommodate this project.

“We’re potentially adding on what could be a couple of mills potentially to the budget,” he said.

But the tax impact won’t be felt until a few years down the road, Mayor Robert Mezzo said.  Mezzo, a Democrat, has said he wholeheartedly supports the project, citing the fact that the borough’s bond rating is high, it’s reimbursement rate is at a 75-percent maximum and the construction market is at an all-time low.

“This is a business decision,” the mayor said. “I would be negligent to not bring this forward to you.”

Beyond San Angelo, all other remarks about the plan were largely positive. Burgess Robert Neth, a fiscal conservative and a Republican, said he agreed with some of what San Angelo said, however, he contradicted some of San Angelo’s remarks, such as the claim that the plan is moving too quick.

“I am part of the Long Term (School Facilities Planning) Committee that has been analyzing the school system for the past six months,” Neth said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of discussion on what we’re going to tackle.”

Neth went on to say the high school is an “asset” the borough needs to take care of. He also said the remark is always “it’s never a good time” to begin a massive renovation project like this.

“Well, you know what, I’ve been involved since 1989 on the Finance Board to now, and we say it every year, ‘it’s never a good time,’” Neth said. “And you know what, we have to make it now.”

Deputy Mayor Tamath Rossi, also a Republican, also said the plan “actually hasn’t moved quickly.”

“It’s something that’s been a thought-out process,” Rossi said. “The school’s been in steady decline since the report in 2007.”

That was the year Kaestle Boos released a study about the high school and its need for renovation in several areas. While the plan has been in the borough’s possession for the past four years, it only gained prominence again this year after Naugatuck High School closed in February following a scare regarding its roof and the heavy snow load on top.

“The speed at which we’re acting now is quite frankly a responsible approach to preserve our rate of savings,” Rossi said.

The rate of savings can be locked in permanently — if the borough acted by June 1. According to King, if Naugatuck sets the plan up for the renovation by that time next year, then the 75-percent reimbursement rate will be fixed in, no matter how long the project takes.

Project Costs:

Site & Field, Utilities $7,688,286 Renovations $57,412,451 Board of Education $2,613,800 New Lockers $627,595 Natatorium, Toilets, Stairs $2,137,568 Fitness & Dance Studio $1,187,187 Indirect Costs $9,316,695 Total Project Estimates $80,983,582


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