Schools draft bond projects for 2 years

The Warwick School Department is poised to request over $6 million from the City Council this January in the first batch of bond funding following the approval of the $40 million bond by voters earlier this month, as the school building committee on Nov. 15 voted unanimously in support of a schedule of capital projects to be completed in 2019 and 2020.

Over the next two years, the school department has outlined a detailed list of improvements to be made utilizing bond moneys that would amount to over $15 million of the $40 million approved.

The project list for work to be conducted in 2019 outlines major renovations necessary to improve top priority needs at schools across the city, including six fire alarm systems, two asbestos abatement projects within elementary schools, three roofing projects and ADA compliance work, in addition to interior work at all schools.

If the school committee approves the schedule at tonight’s meeting, it will set the stage for widespread bond-funded capital improvements to city schools – the first since a $25 million bond was approved by voters in 2006. The final work conducted with funds from that bond just went to finishing work on Vets Middle School this summer.

The focus would then shift to the Warwick City Council, who has the authority in Warwick to release bond funding at their discretion and with the consideration of the fiscal impact it would have on city expenditures. The total ask for the first batch of funding amounts to $6,180,902.

This request includes $4.2 million total projected cost of the projects mentioned above, as well as about $1.9 million in “soft costs,” which includes 8 percent architectural and engineering fees for both summer of 2019 and summer of 2020 projects, and other expected contingencies and fees from contractors once work is put out to bid and when it begins.

In total, between 2019 and 2020, the school building committee approved a list that includes 35 projects, all of which would be considered high priority, as they pertain to safety or accessibility of students. The ask from the city in January of 2020, at this time, is projected to be $9.1 million, which includes architectural and engineering fees for projects to be undertaken in 2021, which were not fully outlined in the report.

Schools scheduled to receive fire alarm system replacements or repairs in 2019 include: Oakland Beach Elementary, Robertson Elementary, Scott Elementary, Warwick Neck Elementary, Winman Middle School and Toll Gate High School. In 2020, Drum Rock Early Learning Center, John Brown Francis, Greenwood Elementary, Hoxsie Elementary, Lippitt Elementary, Park Elementary and Sherman Elementary are also set to receive fire alarm system improvements.

Asbestos abatement will take place at Scott Elementary and Oakland Beach Elementary in 2019, while Holliman Elementary is scheduled to have abatement done in 2020.

Toll Gate High School, Sherman Elementary and Wyman Elementary are scheduled for re-roofing projects in 2019, while Hoxsie Elementary, Lippitt Elementary, Norwood Elementary and Robertson Elementary are scheduled for roofing projects in 2020.

Improvements to ADA access, which includes alterations to doors, bathrooms and accessible ramps, are scheduled at Cedar Hill Elementary in 2019, and at Holliman Elementary, Wyman Elementary, Warwick Vets Middle School and Pilgrim High School in 2020. ADA-accessible playgrounds, which are planned to be installed at all schools eventually, are planned at Warwick Neck and Lippitt in 2019 and at Cedar Hill, Holliman and Wyman in 2020.

Various interior work, which includes everything from converting bathrooms at John Brown Francis to accommodate preschool-aged children, to replacing locks and doors within other schools, is scheduled to be conducted at every school to the projected cost of $918,400.

There is no HVAC work scheduled in the first two years of bond-funded capital improvements, however there are over $10 million worth of such work scheduled in the overview of the total $40 million of projects included in the report, which will be read in further detail at tonight’s meeting.