Board hears bond steering update: HVAC conversions, smaller expansion design and SHPO review
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Summary
At the Nov. 19 meeting, district staff updated the board on bond-steering activity: HVAC designs at Prospect Hill and Colonial are advancing (transitioning from steam to hot-water/gas-only systems with heat pumps), an expansion design was reduced and repositioned and the State Historic Preservation Office review has been submitted.
PELHAM, N.Y. — Before the student-performance work session on Nov. 19, Pelham Union Free School District trustees received a bond steering committee update on capital improvements and school expansion design revisions.
District staff said design work for Prospect Hill and Colonial schools is progressing. "We are transitioning from steam to hot water heating systems, moving from a hybrid gas and oil system to a gas-only system and incorporating an electric heat pump to improve sustainability," one administrator said, describing planned ventilation and modern control upgrades that will centralize building management.
On building additions, staff described revised plans for the Sinoi expansion (name as stated in the presentation) that reduced the addition’s apparent size, increased setbacks — stated in the presentation as "37 50 feet" — and repositioned elevators to minimize structural disturbances and preserve classroom access. The design has been submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), a required review step noted by administration.
District officials said they are also exploring modular construction as an option to minimize on-site disruption if such modular options are comparable in quality and cost.
Procedural notes: Trustee Cone and Dr. Champ said they would leave early to attend advocacy meetings with state and county elected officials to press for continued state aid and support for public schools. The board appointed a clerk pro tem for the evening by voice vote recorded as "Aye." A motion to adjourn was made and seconded later in the meeting; the transcript ends before a final vote on adjournment is recorded.
Next steps: Staff said HVAC planning for Prospect Hill and Colonial will continue over the next month and that a community information session is scheduled for Dec. 17.