Mister Robertson, the district facilities director, told the Chester-Upland School Board on an evening meeting that the district will hire a facilities foreman on Oct. 20 and plans to recruit three custodians to bolster building maintenance.

The comments came during the board’s facilities report, in which Robertson outlined a series of planned and in-progress projects spanning HVAC preventive maintenance, high-voltage electrical work, plumbing repairs, a district-wide camera refresh and door-alarm walkthroughs. He said bids for a camera system have been returned and a committee will meet at 10:30 to tally them.

The update matters because many district buildings are older and require ongoing capital and maintenance work, Robertson said. “So once again, we are moving forward,” he told the board.

Board members pressed for details. Robertson said the camera project will combine replacements and new installations: “So replacement and some new,” he said. He described the committee process for selecting a camera vendor and said the next camera committee meeting will review bids. Robertson also said the district plans to seek outside electricians for high-voltage tasks and to recruit HVAC and plumbing contractors for preventive and repair work.

On individual building work, Robertson reported completed and pending projects: a new heating and air-conditioning unit in a multipurpose room at Main Street; new VCT flooring in classrooms and office spaces at CUSA with common-area work planned for next summer; new restrooms at Go Before Arms; and replacement of a dance floor expected to arrive the following week. He said insurance was covering much of the cost to repair storm-related electrical damage at the STEM building.

Robertson described a stairwell safety issue at Chester High School and said the area is blocked off while bids are sought for replacement. “Right now, I can assure you that it’s we have everything blocked off. No students, no staff,” he said.

On athletic facilities, Robertson said an athletic-complex planning committee met Oct. 7 and that engineers are developing worksite plans for bidding. He cautioned that planning is in early stages and further approvals and steps remain before detailed designs or timelines can be announced.

Board members and administrators said they will provide more detailed phasing and project schedules at future meetings. No formal motions or votes on the facilities items were recorded in the transcript.

Ending: The district presented the facilities update as an operational briefing and said additional details, timing and bidding information will be provided to the board as committee reviews and procurements advance.