Schools gear up to make Vets repairs

By Tessa Roy
Posted 3/23/17

By TESSA ROY After months of questioning, debating and meetings lasting well into the night, the Warwick City Council voted 7-2 Monday night in favor of allocating the $4 million in bond funds to the public schools that will be essential to making school

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Schools gear up to make Vets repairs

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After months of questioning, debating and meetings lasting well into the night, the Warwick City Council voted 7-2 Monday night in favor of allocating the $4 million in bond funds to the public schools that will be essential to making school repairs, namely the heating, kitchen and elevator systems at Vets.

Chief Budget Officer Tony Ferrucci said the biggest focus is indeed the Vets heating and elevator. He hopes to have bid recommendations for the School Committee for the first meeting in May at latest, but could have them earlier if special meetings occur in April. Should those be approved, supplies would be ordered and the first phase of repairs would begin the day after school closes, he said, adding that further details of this first phase will be disclosed when contract awards are presented.

Superintendent Philip Thornton said Tuesday the Vets heating and air conditioning project would be completed over two years, with the first phase being the front corridor of the school that includes the auditorium, school offices, corridors and cafeteria. The rooftop natural gas system designed to replace the existing steam boiler system would include heating and air conditioning. Overall cost of the heating and air exchange systems for Vets is pegged at $6 million.

Also, slated for Vets is replacement of the elevator, which is projected to cost $500,000. Thornton said the existing elevator shaft needs to be widened and that the department looked at building an exterior shaft, but that ended up being more costly.

Asked about air quality tests conducted at the school in response to complaints about mold, Thornton said the tests have been completed and that results are being formatted for release to the committee. He said the results found no reason for alarm.

At Monday’s meeting, Council members continued posing questions on priorities for the use of the money, but school leaders held firm that it would be properly used for repairs. Ahead of the vote, School Committee Vice Chair Eugene Nadeau continued imploring with the Council to release the funds.

“The students in that school, they’ve got to have the heating. It’s for them. The money to repay this is not for you or me or anybody else in this auditorium. It’s for the students and the teachers at Vets Junior High School,” Nadeau said. “It has to be done. We have the plans to use [that $4 million] to get the repairs started. It is a major operation.”

Though he noted that the School Committee should be willing to listen to council members, Councilman Steve Merolla said council members should have run for School Committee instead if they wanted to instruct it on how to spend money.

“We can probably spend another 15 to 30 hours pontificating about how the money should be spent, but at the end of the day they have the control how to spend. And I know that they need the money,” he said. “If they don’t spend the money appropriately when the next bond referendum comes up, I’ll be standing down before I put it out to the voters. But I think the voters have already spoken on this. I know the condition of the schools, and I’m hoping that the administration steps to the plate and does the right thing.”

Council President Joseph Solomon later appeared to agree.

“Clearly, since we devoted three meetings to this subject – three meetings in which all other business has been backlogged – I think it’s clear that the message has been sent that we will be looking at expenditures in the future,” he said.

Councilman Jeremy Rix disagreed with Merolla, saying it’s within the due diligence of the council to “provide specific guidance in terms of which line items we feel are properly accounted for and which are not.” He also suggested special meetings be held in the future to break down line items and improve communication between the School Committee, the City Council and the public.

“When you have more stakeholders coming together, I believe you will achieve better results,” he said.

Motions were made to amend the bond to lesser amounts, which would be used only for Vets, but the amendments were not passed after receiving seconds. The council voted to release all $4 million in funds, Councilmen Rix and Richard Corley being the only two “no” votes, but not without fair warning.

“Should this honorable body decide to approve this bond request, I can assure you one thing; this councilman is going to be watching all of the “yes, we will,” “of course we can,” or “sure, we promise,” and watching all of those nickels and dimes that are spent before considering any future spending going forward,” Councilman Ed Ladouceur said prior to the vote.

Ladouceur and Merolla had both noted that certain costs, such as air conditioning in administration buildings, shouldn’t be priority, and Councilwoman Donna Travis agreed.

“Putting the administration before the kids is a cop out to me, sorry,” she said.

Earlier in the night, the council had tabled a hotly debated panhandling ordinance, with some members of the public speaking up in support of the move to postpone the discussion.

(With reports from John Howell)

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  • Justanidiot

    the school committee is fiddling while norwood and holiman burn

    Monday, March 27, 2017 Report this