Liverpool — On March 10, the Liverpool Central School District will ask residents to approve a $39.5 million capital referendum that includes renovations at Liverpool High School, improvements at the transportation center on Long Branch Road and replacement of the roof at Wetzel Road Elementary.
According to materials sent out by the district, the project calls for a 0.74 percent tax rate increase, which will go into effect in the fall of 2019; the administration tentatively estimates that this increase will raise taxes by $13.80 per year per $100,000 of assessed value.
Of the total project cost of $39,481,107, $36,830,829 will be raised through property taxes if the project is approved. The annual local share amounts to $600,873 per year. The remaining $2,650,278 will come from the district’s capital reserve fund. The bond term is 15 years.
The project is part of the five-phase Long Range Facility Plan developed by the LCSD in 2010 to deal with the district’s aging buildings. The plan mapped out a strategy to renovate the district’s 10 elementary schools, three middle schools and the high school by 2020. Phase I, which involved basic infrastructure work at Willow Field Elementary, the Morgan Road, Chestnut Hill and Soule Road complexes, the high school and the Educational Communications Center, was approved in April of 2011 and is basically complete. Phase II included complete renovations of CHE and CHM, as well as replacement of the roof at the high school, and was approved in March of 2014. The roof at LHS has been replaced, while the work at the Chestnuts is still awaiting approval from the State Education Department and should begin this spring. This project represents Phase III of the Long Range Facility Plan.
The breakdown of the project is as follows:
Renovations at Liverpool High School: $35,850,414
- Building entrance security improvements
- Auditorium area improvements
- Physical education area improvements
- Large group instructional space
- Partial kitchen equipment upgrades
- Data connectivity upgrades
- Fire alarm system improvements
- HVAC in renovated spaces
- Heating/cooling plant replacement
- Exterior façade repair
Transportation Center: $2,026,989
- Replace pavement
- Replace four bus mechanical lifts
- Repair exterior façade
- Replace underground fuel tanks
Wetzel Road School: $1,603,704
- Partial roof replacement
The vote will take place from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at Liverpool High School. Absentee ballots can be obtained by calling the Office of Staff Services at 622-7130. For more information, visit liverpool.k12.ny.us.
