The school board on July 24 approved funding not to exceed $200,000 to repair unsuitable soil and install drainage at Liberty Curtain Elementary after contractors discovered wet, unstable soil in parts of the new parking lot, a vote that passed 4-2. The work the board approved includes repairs to two failed subgrade areas and a roughly 425-foot French drain around the upper portion of the lot to daylight into an existing retention system.

The change order was approved because a contractorduring recent excavationfound buried fill and a wet bank off School Street that has been sending water into the planned parking area. Sam, a staff member involved in the project, said, "So last Thursday, we were called up, and that's when this particular issue was brought to our attention. And they thought it was gonna be under the threshold for me to approve." He described standing water on the site even though it had not rained that week and said geotechnical testing showed poor, uncompacted soil where the old building foundation had been removed.

Board members pressed for assurances about permitting and long-term stability. One board member said, "Why is this once again coming up at the last minute?" and later, "I don't agree with making a motion on stuff, but we don't even know if we can go ahead." Those members voted against the motion, citing the need for Department of Environmental Protection approval before the work proceeds.

The planned remediation described at the meeting includes replacing bad subgrade in two areas, performing compaction and proof-roll testing, and installing a French drain roughly 2 feet by 2 feet with crushed stone and a perforated pipe to collect springs and hillside runoff and route it to the retention pond. The staff member explained the drain would "collect all the water coming off the slope" and daylight to an existing storm system.

Members also discussed permitting. The staff member said the project already has an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit and erosion-and-sediment (E&S) controls that were renewed earlier in the year, and that conservation district staff had been involved, but he also said an addendum or additional sign-off may be required because the newly discovered conditions were not part of the originally anticipated work. "I don't know if the contractor called them again about this or not, but we've had geotech engineers on-site for the last couple of weeks testing every bit of this," he said.

Board members sought clarity on liability and inspection. The staff member said the construction contractor (referred to at the meeting as Lobar or the construction team) controls the site and is responsible for obtaining final inspections and occupancy; the board's payment would cover corrective work now but the contractor must secure required approvals before final turnover. One board member noted the risk to nearby properties if a spring is disturbed and urged the board to ensure DEP approval before work is completed.

The motion approved reads in part: "Approve funding not to exceed $200,000 for additional soil remediation at Liberty Curtain Elementary. Additional remediation is required outside of the area that was previously approved for cement stabilization." The motion passed on a roll-call vote reported as four yeses and two nos. Board members recorded voting yes were Miss Donahue, Mister Elling, Mister Johnson and Miss Smith; the two members recorded voting no were Miss Lynch and Mister Scapp. The meeting record stated the group will pursue necessary DEP sign-offs and that any plan changes required by DEP will be implemented if requested.

Next steps announced at the meeting included authorizing staff to move forward with the remedial work while simultaneously seeking DEP approval or additional permitting as needed; staff emphasized that final sign-off and occupancy cannot occur until the proper inspections and permits are completed.