Bloomfield board looks toward April bond issue

The Bloomfield School Board voted to take bids for the replacement of two 12.5 ton HVAC units at the Middle School and awarded a contract for termite eradication at the Elementary School at their regular meeting Monday night. The board also voted to rehire the certified staff at the elementary, middle and high schools in executive session following the regular meeting.

Dr. Nick Thiele, superintendent, told the board that three public meetings have been held to meet with the public about a proposed $1.5 million bond issue that will be on the April 6 election ballot. Thiele said only four people attended the first meeting and two people came to the second meeting. No one attended the third meeting held March 6.

The district is seeking to issue bonds to pay for roofs on the elementary and high schools, replace HVAC units and at the high school, replace some ceiling tile at both schools and address thermal moisture issues as well as address other safety and energy issues. The bond would raise the tax rate by 27 cents per $100 of property valuation. All the added revenue would go toward debt service to pay off the bonds.

"My concern is that we are not getting input about the bond issue," Thiele told the board. "Do they think we are moving in the right direction?"

Board member Dave Cooper asked if Thiele had spoken with any farmers about the bond issue.

Thiele said the ones he had spoken with had been supportive. He said they believed the district was asking "only for what we need and the project was manageable."

Thiele said he was scheduled to meet with people at the Bloomfield Nutrition Center and answer any questions they might have about the bond issue. There are two more public meetings scheduled; a meeting is set for March 15 and one for March 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the school library.

"All we can do is make ourselves available to the public," Thiele said.

In other matters, the board voted unanimously to take bids for the replacement of two 12.5 ton HVAC units at the Middle School. Thiele told the board that repairs to the present units would be more costly than buying new units. There was little discussion prior to the vote.

Thiele informed the board that termites were detected in the Elementary School building and the problem needed action to prevent further problems. He said Terminix has submitted a cost of $5,352 to treat and eradicate termites at the building and start a three year contract for termite treatment. Thiele said the district already has a contract with Terminix, but it is for pest control at campus buildings.

A board members asked whether the district needed to take bids on the contract. Thiele said since the district already has a contract with Terminix and the cost is under $15,000, then he did not think bids were necessary unless the board wanted to take them.

Board member Bill Robison asked whether the treatment would affect students. Thiele said Terminix told him they would do it on a Friday after students had left school. He said the building could also be treated during the Easter break which would provide more time for ventilation before students were back in school.

Cooper made the motion to approve the contract with Terminix, and it passed by a 7-0 vote.

Thiele presented the board with a request from the Nutrition Center for a donation to help defray costs at the center. They have been attempting to raise funds to pay for meals provided to senior citizens on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.

Board member Trevor Pulley made a motion to donate $200 to the center, and it passed by a unanimous vote.

Thiele updated the board on some legislative actions that might impact the district. He said one of the proposals would allow school districts to "opt out of prevailing wage" requirements for construction projects. Thiele said he had talked with some area contractors and they were supportive of the bill.

"I will write a letter to our legislators asked them to add an emergency clause to the bill so that it would go into effect immediately," Thiele stated. "It could save us some money on construction costs if the bond issue passes."

He said he was monitoring budget woes in the state and shortfalls in funding to public schools.

"I don't think it will hit our district as hard as I thought," Thiele told the board.

He noted that the enrollment in the district was up 26 students from last year, and the added students provided more state funding based on average daily attendance. He said the extra students had not required any additional teachers or expenses to the district and might help offset any funding shortages.

Two representatives of Schneider Electric based in O'Fallon were at the meeting to make a presentation about the advantages of using performance contracting when making energy improvements in the district.

Susan Noeth and Sarah Guemmer, regional sales manager, met with the board to show how performance contracts were preferable to the old way of bidding construction projects. They stated that a performance contract puts more responsibility on the contractor to meet promises that are made about energy savings. With a performance contract, the utility bills for the district are monitored on a monthly basis and compared to the promised energy savings. Noeth said that in some of the performance contracts, it is specified that if the savings are not realized, the company would "write a check" to the district for the difference.

Noeth said Schneider Electric would oversee the entire project and then sub-contract for the work. She said the company believed that the district would be better served over the long haul by hiring a contractor using a "request for qualifications" rather than the traditional "request for proposals." She said the traditional approach puts out bids on a project based on incomplete specifications which leads almost always to change orders in the construction. She said the request for qualifications means hiring a company based on their reputation, past work references and a check of their record regarding any past litigation.

Noeth said under the performance contract, the ESCO (Energy Service Company) would design the project to reduce long-term costs, design the project with compatibility and sustainability in mind, and monitor and verify the systems performance.

She noted that Schneider Electric had been contracted by many districts in Southeast Missouri and that the Kingston School District had actually received a check for shortfalls in energy savings that were guaranteed in the contract.

Robison commented that it sounded much like what the Missouri Department of Transpiration was doing with Design-Build programs.

Thiele said the energy improvements that were part of the proposed improvements if the bond issue passes were only a small part of the project. He estimated of the $100,000 per month to be raised from the bond issue, only about $10,000 to $15,000 would go toward energy-related improvements. He said the more pressing issue for the district was the replacement of the roofs. No action was taken.

In other matters:

* The board hired Cody Boyer as assistant baseball coach. Boyer is a substitute teacher and holds a teaching certificate.

* Thiele informed the board that the district was now receiving their mail at the campus address of 505 Court Street instead of a Post Office box. He said this was at the request of the Post Office and was an advantage to the district.

* Thiele told the board that Congress has placed a "hold" on all FEMA safe room projects, and he was unsure of when those projects would receive funding.

* The 50th annual Recognition Banquet will be April 15, and Thiele invited all board members to attend. He said members should let him know if they plan to attend. The MSBA meeting in Dexter will be April 19, and Thiele urged all board members to attend.