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Talawanda City board hears facilities capital plan with multi‑year cost estimates
Summary
Director of facilities Bill Hubbard presented a five‑year capital plan that lists tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars for parking, HVAC, lighting and other projects; trustees and staff discussed funding sources and next steps.
Bill Hubbard, director of facilities and grounds for the Talawanda City School District, presented the district's five‑year facilities capital plan at the Jan. 9 board meeting, laying out budgetary estimates for parking lots, HVAC systems, lighting retrofits and other projects across district buildings.
Hubbard told the board the plan groups major work—parking lot repairs, roofing, HVAC, building facades and safety improvements—and is updated annually to reflect need and available funds.
The plan includes preliminary cost estimates that Hubbard described as budgetary figures: $80,000 for preventive maintenance and sealcoat work at three sites (Marshall, Kramer and Bogan); $79,000 to mill and repave an older parking lot at Marshall Elementary; about $325,000 to mill and repave the full Tallawanda Middle School lot; roughly $270,000 to replace approximately 500 classroom plenum diffusers at the high school; $400,000 to replace a York chiller at the middle school; $600,000 to replace VAV boxes and controls at the middle school; and $540,000 for replacement of boilers/chillers at Bogan. Hubbard said LED retrofits are budgeted at about $750,000 for the high school and $400,000 for the middle school.
"We average about 1,200 work orders a year," Hubbard said. "About 400 of those are preventative maintenance work orders a year." He added that many larger replacements come with energy savings and a return‑on‑investment timeline: "this could pay for itself in 6, 7, 8 years." (Bill Hubbard)
Board members pressed for clarity on funding. Shauna Topelski, a district staff member who works with facilities planning, said the HVAC and chiller items are phased into the next 10 years and that much of the work would come from the district's permanent improvement fund. "The LED lighting for the middle school and the high school has not been budgeted in," Topelski said; she said she would present a broader overview of the permanent improvement fund next month.
Trustees and staff discussed options to reduce costs. Hubbard said the proprietary Lutron lighting control at the high school is no longer supported and that replacing the system will require a retrofit project that vendors estimate will take five to six weeks in summer. "When we pull the plug on the Lutron system, we kind of lose the whole system," Hubbard said, noting some vendors told staff the work is not easily phased.
Board members asked whether local contractors could bid on the retrofits; Hubbard said the district prefers local contractors and that vendors already under consideration had been "very highly recommended." Shauna Topelski said facilities have applied ESSER funds in recent years to cover several items on the five‑year plan, reducing pressure on the permanent improvement fund.
The presentation concluded with trustees thanking Hubbard and his staff for snow removal and routine maintenance work during the recent winter weather. Hubbard said he will return with energy audits and firm pricing when vendors complete proposals.
The district did not adopt any binding contract or specific procurement award during the presentation; trustees directed staff to continue developing cost estimates and return with further details for budgeting and bidding.
