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Easton Area SD design team outlines schedule, phase‑1 budget and Act 34 timing; trustees urged to consider tax plan
Summary
Designers reviewed the project schedule, phase‑1 budgeting, and the Act 34 public‑hearing timeline. Presenters reiterated an estimated cumulative project cost in the design documents and advised continuing a proposed 1.5% annual tax set‑aside to support the capital program.
Designers and district staff reviewed the high school project schedule, phase‑1 budgeting and the Act 34 (public‑hearing) sequence used in Pennsylvania school construction. They reiterated cumulative cost estimates presented in the project draw schedule, described upcoming permitting steps for phase 1 and reminded trustees that the district’s planned tax set‑aside will be important to fund the project.
A design presenter (speaker 8) said the phase‑1 budget figures shown in meeting materials included two green‑boxed items of about $6,000,000 and $5,000,000 that were being used for budgeting Phase 1 site and field work; detailed civil and stormwater plans had not yet been completed. The presentation listed a cumulative estimated project cost of about $16,800,000 by 2026 for the design/bid milestones and said that, when the district goes out to bid, the figure shown in the materials would be about $22,800,000. The presenters said those figures are estimates at this stage and are being refined as design development proceeds.
Administration members highlighted schedule milestones: designers said design development continues through the end of the calendar year into early 2026, with construction documents and bid preparation following. Colliers (the engineering/design team) will submit the preliminary land‑development plan for phase 1 to the township next month for a December preliminary planning commission meeting; designers said conservation‑district approvals and coordination with the township and PennDOT will be part of the permitting sequence.
Board members discussed timing relative to the board election and new board members. Presenters said the formal Act 34 booklet and public‑notice sequence had to be scheduled so new board members have adequate time to review materials; the team said the district could advertise a hearing in November with at least a 20‑day minimum notice and hold the Act 34 hearing in January if the board wished to allow additional time for new members to acclimate. The presenters said this timing is flexible and can be adjusted as the board directs.
Administrators emphasized the district’s funding approach. A district administrator (speaker 4) reiterated that the board’s previously discussed commitment to set aside an annual tax increase of 1.5% would be “critical” to the project’s ability to proceed, and that failing to do so could halt work after the funds already expended on design and planning. Presenters and finance staff said updated PlanCon materials and PFM financing inputs would be incorporated as the booklet and schedule are finalized.
The team said the phase‑1 permitting and permitting approvals were on an aggressive schedule but that Colliers was monitoring conservation‑district timelines and expected permit approvals in time for a contractor notice to proceed in 2027 if the schedule held. Presenters noted that the district has latitude to shift advertising and the hearing date if the board chooses to provide incoming trustees more time to review.
No formal motions or votes were taken on the Act 34 advertising or on financing during the meeting; the team recommended the board consider the tax‑set aside strategy as the capital plan moves toward bidding.
