Carteret county Schools

Bond Projects Manager Keith Maready asked Board members to formally request the County Commissioners approve the sale of $18.3 of the bonds so funds would be available by April 2007 for the new construction at East Carteret High School and for additional projects scheduled after 2007.

Mr. Maready’s report noted to date the Board of Education has received bids on approximately 6.4 percent of the $49,045,283 in bond projects. Projects bid include HVAC, electrical, roofing, door renovations and site work. He noted the projects are on schedule as presented and approved by the Board of Education June 5, 2006.

Mr. Maready’s report noted the County has previously sold $22,000,000 of the bond value, which will cover the projected spending through the fourth quarter of 2007 with the exception of the new construction work at East Carteret High School. The projected starting date for the new construction at East Carteret High School is April 2007.
Finance Officer J. Ipock answered several questions about the bond sales.

County Manager John Langdon said if there was a significant amount of money for the renovation of East Carteret High School in the second bond sale there were several issues that would need to be resolved by the Board of Education before he believes the County Commissioners would be comfortable selling the bonds.
Mr. Langdon said the cost of three bond issuances was built into the bond budget. If a fourth issuance would be added, it would take a significant amount of money from the bond projects.

Dr. Luettich said the request for the selling of the bonds was very closely tied to decision process at East Carteret High School and to the timeline for the project. He was reluctant to request the County Commissioners to sell $18.3 million of the remaining bonds if needed decisions had not been made by the Board of Education.

Dr. Luettich made the motion to table the request to sell $18.3 million of the remaining bonds until action was taken by the Board of Education on East Carteret High School’s renovation plan. This action would be expected in December.

David Carr provided the second.

Dr. Luettich said until the Board of Education makes decisions about the renovations at East Carteret High School it is not appropriate to request the Commissioners sell bonds. He requested more information about the renovations and could not make decisions until that information was provided.

The motion failed 3-4 with June Fulcher, Bill Blair, Cathy Neagle and Al Hill casting nay votes.

Dr. Luettich said what the Board of Education does at East Carteret High School and when it does it has a substantial impact on the cash flow.

June Fulcher said the quicker this issue could be resolved the sooner the work could proceed. She said a special meeting might be in order to get the work moving forward.
Mr. Blair said staying on schedule for the work at East Carteret High School was paramount.

Attorney Neil Whitford suggested a special meeting be called in two weeks.

David Carr made motion to instruct Superintendent Dr. David Lenker to schedule a meeting within two weeks to act on the request of issuance of bonds and on the approval of the East Carteret High School renovation project.
June Fulcher provided the second and all members voted aye.

RECEIVE BOND PROJECTS UPDATE
Mr. Maready updated the Board on several bond projects.

The roofing projects at Broad Creek Middle School and Beaufort Middle School are progressing well. He noted the projects are on schedule with no discovery of unacceptable work in place. Pricing for heat and rust treatment protection for two kitchen equipment exhaust vents at Broad Creek Middle is being sought. Mr. Maready said the vents are causing undesirable stains on the current shingle roof and would cause the same on a new roof in short term. The soffit and fascia panels at Beaufort Middle are being addressed in the roofing contract. As soffits are being removed there is discovery of wall panels just below the soffit line that are allowing air and possibly wind driven rain to enter the building. Roofing Engineering Inc. (REI) is working with Mr. Maready to seek ways to resolve the issue. Mr. Maready said the most cost effective and efficient means is application of elastomeric water proofing, and he has asked the contractor for a price.

Work on White Oak Elementary School’s gym roof and HVAC will begin at the end of November. Contracts for the door renovation projects at the school will be issued by the end of November, and the window renovations bid evaluation will be complete by November 15.

Mr. Maready reported that all design work for bond projects is progressing on schedule.

Mr. Maready also reported on the Qualified Zone Academy Bond work taking place at Morehead City Elementary School. He noted this was not part of the bond projects. The HVAC, electrical and roofing work is now in progress at the school. Mr. Maready said 90 percent of the HVAC and electrical work is being performed after school hours – from 4 p.m. to 6 a.m. and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. He reported the work is currently on schedule.