Brookfield Central School District voters will decide on a Capital Project less costly than the one rejected last year.
A special meeting of the BCS Board of Education on Dec. 19 brought out about 25 residents to ask questions and hear the proposal.
The project of $2.4 million will be funded 93 percent by the state and the rest from a savings account designated for this purpose.
With those funding sources, no tax increase is necessary to pay for the work.
Had the project included renovations to the bus garage to add a lift, a tax levy increase of 2 percent would have been needed. That would have added $45 to a property assessed at $100,000.
The work will include replacing outdated clock and telephone systems, replacing exterior doors to the gym, and providing LED lighting in the gym. The last item will save money on the district’s electric bill.
The boys and girls locker rooms will also be renovated, as will the art room. Doors at the two bus garages will be replaced, and the grease trap in the kitchen will be replaced.
BCS Board President Bernie Whitacre said all five Board members are taxpayers and money would not be squandered but spent on necessary work.
To set the vote for February, board members needed to approve a project by Jan. 2.
An idea by Board member Julie Wratten to use alternative funding for energy items was discussed but would take too long to explore to keep the project on the timeline.
Board members discussed during the time residents attended, and then after they left for another hour, the need for a lift for the bus garage.
Brookfield has to use the lift in the Waterville CSD bus garage for state inspections.
In addition, any work on the buses in Brookfield has to be done by pulling the buses on the road, as the garage is too small to allow for room to work inside.
Board member Sean Karn said the bus garage expansion has been discussed for years, with it always being put off.
Former Board member Peter Owens, who attended the meeting, said he recalled it being discussed when he was on the Board.
Karn tried to get residents at the meeting to say if they supported or didn’t the idea of the bus garage and additional tax impact. Without a clear answer, the ...
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