We are extremely pleased to announce the first phase of our capital project will start this spring. Approved by district voters in May 2021, Phase I of the $27.6 million building project was approved by NYSED in late January and The Board of Education has awarded bids to contractors. Phase I includes work at the Unatego Elementary School, the District Transportation Center, and primarily at the Junior-Senior High School.
Work at the Elementary School consists of minor plumbing, electrical, and safety upgrades, installation of a new PA, clock, and fire alarm system, and a monitoring station for wastewater to bring our septic system up to new standards. The focus of construction at the bus garage in Phase I is to replace the 1951 bus lift with a new state-of-the-art lift.
Most of the rest of the project is aimed at the Junior-Senior High School. This June, we will start renovations of the HS auditorium and the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms. Additional work in Phase I will include a new fire alarm system, roofing replacement, hallway renovations, and asbestos abatement. As the project progresses, additional work will be completed in classroom areas of the 1968 building. Athletic fields will receive much-needed improvements and the HS auditorium and classroom spaces will be air conditioned by the end of the project as well. Some of the original energy saving components have been moved from the project into an Energy Performance Contract or EPC to offset increasing construction costs.
Following an Energy Audit funded through a NYSERDA grant, much of the energy efficiencies recommended in the original project have been removed included in an Energy Performance Contract, or EPC, which guarantees the energy savings from the improvements will pay for the cost (See Unatego Embarks on Energy Performance Contract (EPC) elsewhere in this newsletter.
Once we get through what’s left of winter, we are excited to start this amazing project to modernize our facilities, improve safety, and conserve energy. The anticipated completion of the project is September 2025.
Continue to check the District website
www.unatego.org for more on both the EPC and Capital Project under the Capital Project tab on the home page for further updates.