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Board reviews $5.9M in remaining bond funds, authorizes scope work and debates electrification study for 120-bus fleet
Summary
Facilities director outlined remaining 2022 bond funds (~$5.9M) and recommended moving forward with prioritized capital projects (turf replacement, cafeteria HVAC, idle-hour boilers, acid waste tank remediation, district office HVAC) and pursuing an electrification study for the district’s ~120-bus fleet; board authorized staff to develop scopes and pursue RFP/procurement steps.
The Connetquot Central School District’s facilities director presented a review of remaining funds from the 2022 capital project and sought direction to develop scopes of work for several projects and to pursue a professional electrification study for the district’s large transportation fleet.
John Allen (facilities) told the board: "Right now, based on current allocations for the project, we have $5,900,000 remaining in the 2022 project." He recommended moving forward with several prioritized projects — including upper turf replacement (state-aidable field refurbishments), cafeteria air-conditioning upgrades, replacement of aging idle-hour boilers (Allen estimated a replacement cost of "$950,000"), remediation of an acid waste tank system at the high school, and significant HVAC work at the district office — and said some items would not be aidable without a community vote.
On electrification, Allen described a proposed study to help the district plan for a state-mandated shift away from fossil-fuel bus purchases beginning in 2027. "Electrification study uses the experts... They can do route help..." he said, and later explained that the district’s share of an estimated study cost could be roughly $38,500 ("our district's share, which would be 25% of the total, I think was 38..."). He noted that legal guidance indicated the study must go out to bid as a professional service. Board members and residents raised concerns about grid capacity, bus-yard spacing, fire-suppression (firewall) requirements between parked electric buses, and vendor experience working with very large fleets: "For a fleet our size... you're looking at tens of millions of dollars on our general budget," one board member said.
Administrators also reported unanticipated nonrecurring revenue: "we were able to benefit from $1,900,000 in unanticipated revenue" from a federal solar rebate tied to the high-school solar system; officials said that check is in the bank and likely to be recorded as fund balance at the fiscal year close.
The board agreed to give facilities staff authority to work with the architect to develop scopes of work and to proceed with an RFP process for an electrification study, with the understanding the district does not have to award a contract and will evaluate respondents for relevant fleet experience.
Next steps: staff will work with purchasing and the district architect on SED filings, prepare RFP specifications that request vendor experience and fleet references, and return to the board with recommendations and cost updates.
