Baldwinsville — Residents in the Baldwinsville Central School District will vote in February on a $32 million capital project, which centers around the construction of a new bus garage behind Anheuser-Busch.

Assistant Superintendent for Management Services Jamie Rodems presented the plan to the school board at its Nov. 9 meeting. In addition to the new transportation facility, the proposal includes a new press box and lighting at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, kitchen renovations at Baker High School, new lockers at Baker and Ray Middle School and roof replacements at Baker, Elden Elementary School, Van Buren Elementary School and the Baldwinsville Public Library.

The cost of the 2016 capital project is estimated to be $32,432,400, nearly half of which — $16 million — is attributed to the transportation facility. The district will ask taxpayers to approve the use of $3.5 million of its capital reserve and will bond for the rest. B’ville can receive building aid covering up to 88 percent of the expense of the new bus garage over 30 years and aid for the balance of the work over 15 years.

Rodems said the tax impact on district residents should be minimal.

“I’ve got $2.1 million of debt service going away and I’ll be putting $2.1 million back on,” Rodems told the Messenger. “The new debt will replace the old debt.”

The local share of debt service will rise in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years because of “a drop in state aid in these years due to a state-mandated debt refinancing several years ago,” Rodems said in his presentation.

Why a new bus garage?

Rodems said the district’s current transportation facility is more than 70 years old. It has a wooden roof and heating costs are expensive.

“It is too small and poorly designed to take care of a fleet our size,” Rodems said in his presentation.

continued — The district has 118 vehicles licensed to transport students and 40 other vehicles including pickup trucks, vans and snowplows. Rodems said the district is concerned about the quality of life and the environment in the village, given the diesel exhaust these vehicles emit each day.

Traffic is also a concern; Rodems said moving the bus garage outside the village would reduce traffic in the village by as much as 40 to 50 percent.

Some bus routes will be longer and some will be shorter, but Rodems said the overall mileage will be about the same with the new facility. Given the expected decrease in village traffic, overall route times may be shorter.

Rodems said he is “psyched” to move the bus garage out of the village.

“It’s a safer place for my people to work [and] more energy efficient,” Rodems said. “We pull what I think is a commercial trucking facility out of the center of the village.”

The school district examined several possible sites for the new transportation facility. The district looked at the possibility of using land it already owns north of Durgee Junior High School, but Rodems said it would be costly to run water and sewer lines to that property.

“It would cost me more money to develop [the district’s] own piece of property,” he said.

A site on Smokey Hollow Road was deemed too small, and owners of the Tri-County Mall site on Downer Street refused to entertain an offer from the district.

The school board’s facilities committee settled on a parcel owned by the Empire State Development Corporation in the industrial park behind Anheuser-Busch. Rodems said the district is still in negotiations with ESDC and cannot disclose the cost of the land, but called it a “reasonable price if all the stars align.”

In addition to the traffic and environmental benefits, Rodems said a new transportation facility would allow the Baldwinsville district to partner with neighboring school districts or municipalities. Rodems said the West Genesee Central School District performs vehicle maintenance for the Solvay Union Free School District, and the Oneida City School District has a similar agreement with neighboring school districts as well as the city of Oneida.

continued — “A lot of small districts have a tough time getting mechanics,” Rodems said. “I wouldn’t mind being a regional maintenance center.”

While neither the towns of Lysander and Van Buren nor the village of Baldwinsville have signed on to the project, Rodems said intermunicipal agreements are a possibility for the future.

“I’m hopeful that we can make an arrangement and lower the cost of operating this place,” he said.

Other components of the project

While the transportation facility is the centerpiece of the 2016 capital project, the district is also seeking to make other improvements to its properties:

• Baker High School: The oldest section of the high school’s roof, which is over the science wing, is in need of replacement. The building’s kitchen dates back to 1952 and is “obsolete,” according to Rodems’ presentation. Updates to the kitchen will help the school’s food services program turn a profit and help support the other cafeterias in the district. Some of the high school’s lockers will be replaced as well.

• Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium: Since voters in 2014 approved new ADA-compliant bleachers, the district has found that using the old press box will not be practical. The 2016 capital project also seeks to replace the stadium’s 30-year-old lights and light poles.

• Roofs: In addition to the Baker science wing’s roof, the district seeks to replace the roofs at Elden Elementary School, Van Buren Elementary School and the Baldwinsville Public Library.

The school board is expected to vote on the proposed 2016 capital project in December, and residents would vote on the project Feb. 9. Rodems’ presentation can be viewed at bit.ly/bcsd2016.