July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
JCHS project on track (7/30/05)
No remonstrance filed
By By Jack Ronald-
A renovation project at Jay County High School that could cost as much as $18 million is on track with the passing of a deadline Friday afternoon for the filing of a remonstrance petition.
Jay Schools superintendent Barbara Downing, school board president Doug Inman and JCHS principal Wood Barwick waited anxiously in the office of Jay County auditor Freda Corwin until its 4:30 p.m. closing.
Had a remonstrance petition bearing the certified signatures of 100 people been filed in opposition it would have set in motion a process of competing petition drives for and against the project. Without a remonstrance petition, work will now move forward.
Jay School Board members unanimously approved the project on June 27, having scaled it back significantly from a $26.6 million version which was sketched out last fall.
“I’m very appreciative of the taxpayers in Jay County for their support of education,” Downing said after the deadline had passed. “The project has always been for the kids.”
Inman expressed relief with the outcome.
“I’m very pleased the end result is that a project will move forward,” he said.
Plans call for major work on the high school’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The project also includes renovation of the school’s swimming pool and locker rooms and renovation and new equipment for the vocational area.
Downing indicated 62 percent of the cost will involve the HVAC work, a little over 18 percent will involve renovation of the vocational area, a little less than 18 percent will involve the swimming pool renovation and about 2 percent will involve renovation of the locker rooms. Another major component is about $1.1 million in upgrading or replacement of vocational equipment.
The school corporation can go ahead with a bond issue to finance the work. The bonds will have a 22-year term, and interest rates are expected to be between 2.5 and 6 percent.
The next step is for Barton, Coe, Vilamaa Architects and Engineers of Fort Wayne to develop schematics and specifications. Construction could begin in April of 2006, with completion expected by August of 2007.
While the original project drew heated opposition in November and December last year, the scaled-back version — which eliminated a second gymnasium and outright replacement of the pool — received only positive comments from the public at a hearing in June.
“The board listened to the community,” Inman said.[[In-content Ad]]
Jay Schools superintendent Barbara Downing, school board president Doug Inman and JCHS principal Wood Barwick waited anxiously in the office of Jay County auditor Freda Corwin until its 4:30 p.m. closing.
Had a remonstrance petition bearing the certified signatures of 100 people been filed in opposition it would have set in motion a process of competing petition drives for and against the project. Without a remonstrance petition, work will now move forward.
Jay School Board members unanimously approved the project on June 27, having scaled it back significantly from a $26.6 million version which was sketched out last fall.
“I’m very appreciative of the taxpayers in Jay County for their support of education,” Downing said after the deadline had passed. “The project has always been for the kids.”
Inman expressed relief with the outcome.
“I’m very pleased the end result is that a project will move forward,” he said.
Plans call for major work on the high school’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The project also includes renovation of the school’s swimming pool and locker rooms and renovation and new equipment for the vocational area.
Downing indicated 62 percent of the cost will involve the HVAC work, a little over 18 percent will involve renovation of the vocational area, a little less than 18 percent will involve the swimming pool renovation and about 2 percent will involve renovation of the locker rooms. Another major component is about $1.1 million in upgrading or replacement of vocational equipment.
The school corporation can go ahead with a bond issue to finance the work. The bonds will have a 22-year term, and interest rates are expected to be between 2.5 and 6 percent.
The next step is for Barton, Coe, Vilamaa Architects and Engineers of Fort Wayne to develop schematics and specifications. Construction could begin in April of 2006, with completion expected by August of 2007.
While the original project drew heated opposition in November and December last year, the scaled-back version — which eliminated a second gymnasium and outright replacement of the pool — received only positive comments from the public at a hearing in June.
“The board listened to the community,” Inman said.[[In-content Ad]]
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