BOE OKs $30,000 preliminary design for $5 million Sullivan Central HVAC work

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County's school board has funded a $30,000 preliminary design for about $5 million for HVAC ceiling pipe replacement and improvement at Central High SchoolAbout half the cost of the project — which school officials said is overdue and could be forced on them on an emergency basis with a pipe failure — could be paid for with a loan with a Tennessee Energy Efficiency School Initiative program interest rate of less than 1 percent.However, in a vote of 5-1 with one absent, board member Todd Broughton cast the lone vote against the design funding. Broughton, of Bloomingdale, said he fears whatever recommendations come out of the facilities study underway might mean the plans would be too much or not enough for Central, which in draft options either would become a middle school, stay a high school or become a career technical education center.In addition, during public comment, Teresa King of Colonial Heights questioned why the board was going forward with roof work on Blountville Elementary — targeted to be demolished and rebuilt in the draft options — and work on other schools given that the final draft recommendations are not to go to the school board until April.If the final contract with Steve Hutton Architects and Holston Engineering is approved by County Attorney Dan Street, Director of Schools Jubal Yennie said, those two firms will give a report to the school board at its March 2 meeting."We can't stop doing things because something might change in the future," BOE member Randall Jones of Indian Springs said of the renovation and repair projects. The piping replacement is phase two of HVAC work at Central. Phase one was a conversion from a coal to a propane boiler.Even if drastic changes come with the facilities study recommendations and are funded by the County Commission, no changes are to take place in the 2015-16 school year. In addition, Ohio-based consultant Tracy Richter has told officials it usually takes at least four years to build a new high school and that the changes would have to be done in stages over time for monetary and logistical reasons.Simply fixing identified deficiencies would cost about $74 million, the draft study says, while Richter has predicted final recommendations would cost in the neighborhood of $175 million to $200 million.County Mayor Richard Venable, invited to address the BOE and answer prepared questions, lauded the school board for coming up with the facilities study and predicted the County Commission would be interested in seriously considering recommendations that come from it.Broughton said his concern is that Richter's concept of "right sizing" might mean a smaller Central building. But member Jerry Greene of Bristol said he's been afraid the pipes at Central will fail anytime.Under-insulated heating and cooling pipes at Sullivan East High School were mostly blamed for a black mold issue that prompted school system officials in 2002 to close the school for about six weeks. East students went to nearby Bristol Motor Speedway to take classes in skyboxes until the toxic mold was remediated at a cost of $600,000.Some of the mold, known as Stachybotrys chartarum, also was found in a pod at Indian Springs Elementary in October and led to the temporary closure of that area until the mold was remediated.In unanimous votes, the board awarded the low bids for carpet at Sullivan South High, approved the scope of work for Indian Springs Elementary roof work, OK'd a change order for a Blountville Elementary roof project, approved a low bid for tennis court repairs at North, Central and East and a Sullivan High/Middle School track low bid.In addition, the board voted 6-0 with one absent to apply for a Clean Tennessee Energy Grant that would pay for about half the cost of a more than $500,000 solar project at Ketron Elementary School.Yennie said the rest of the funding for the project, done in conjunction with Ameresco, would come from local school system dollars and in-kind contributions. A full agenda from Monday's meeting is available near the agenda icon at www.sullivank12.net/?.