Capital Improvement Project HEADER
2024 Capital Project » 2024 Capital Improvement Project

2024 Capital Improvement Project

Absentee & Early Mail Ballots

Previous Meeting Information

Project Costs & Financing Plan

Project Overview

Questions & Answers

Capital Project Upcoming Events

INVESTING IN OUR FACILITIES, INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE

On Tuesday, December 17, Bloomfield Central School district residents will have an opportunity to vote on a proposed capital improvement project.
 
The 2024 Capital Improvement Project seeks to ensure that our commitment to providing what our students need to find success, prioritizing health and safety, and our commitment to fiscal responsibility continues. The proposed project will replace our aging bus garage with a new transportation center located off of the Middle/High school campus. Doing so will provide a safer work environment for our mechanics, a safer parking layout for drivers and pedestrians, and expanded parking at the Middle/High School for our community during school events.
 
This project also creates a unique opportunity to expand our academic programming for students. Relocating our transportation department will also allow us to convert the current bus garage and adjacent space into a student learning space. This space will be used to offer courses that will allow our students an Agricultural Education pathway to graduation. Our plans are to offer courses such as welding, small engine repair, and basic auto technology in what is now the current mechanics bays. Additional improvements will round out the project, as detailed in the information that follows.
 
To learn more about the project, please join us for a tour of the current bus garage on November 16 and the public information meeting on December 9.

ABSENTEE & EARLY MAIL BALLOTS

Residents of the Bloomfield Central School District who would like an absentee or early mail ballot must first complete an application. Applications can be found below. Please print the application, complete it, and return it by mail to Kristin Warren, District Clerk, at 45 Maple Avenue, Suite A, Bloomfield, NY 14469. Call (585) 657-6121 ext. 4004 with any questions.

PROJECT COSTS & FINANCING PLAN

Careful project planning will minimize the impact on taxpayers. The majority of the project’s cost will be funded by available New York State Building Aid, and a substantial portion of the remaining “local share” will be paid for using $3,500,000 from the District’s Capital Reserve Fund which is specifically set aside for capital projects. The District’s retiring debt service will further reduce the impact on taxpayers, and the remaining “new” local share would be paid for through the local tax levy.
 
Capital Project Project CostCapital Project Financing Plan

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Health & Safety

  • New Transportation Facility
  • School Based Health Clinic
  • Replace P/A and Clock with Mass Notification Display/Speakers at the Elementary and Middle/High School

Operations & Efficiencies

  • Boiler Replacement at the Elementary School
  • Door Replacements at the Elementary and Middle/High School
  • Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning Work in All Buildings

Student Programs

  • New Career & Technical Education (CTE) Learning Space for Agricultural Education
  • Turf Infields on Upper Baseball & Softball Fields
  • Refinish the Elementary Gym Floor
  • Refinish the Middle/High School Small Gym Floor

New Transportation Facility & Baseball/Softball Field Upgrades

Our bus garage was constructed in 1940, with an addition added in 1963. Its current location presents many critical safety issues, and an updated facility has been on our “needs” list for many years. The new building would be located near our two lower fields, with an entrance off of Oakmount Avenue. Separate parking for drivers and buses would double as overflow parking for the upper fields. After evaluating an alternate location for the new facility that would not directly affect our existing fields, this option was selected based on its significant cost savings (roughly $8 million in savings by comparison). To mitigate the reduction of the lower fields, this project would add synthetic turf to the infields of the upper baseball and softball fields for all-weather playability and extended usage.
 
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Reconfigured Student Learning Spaces & School Based Health Clinic

To maximize the usefulness of the space, we are also proposing that the current bus garage facility be converted into a student learning space where we could offer courses such as small engine repair, basic auto technology, and welding. These courses would allow us to offer an Agricultural Education CTE (Career & Technical Education) pathway to graduation for students. We are also planning to house a future School Based Health Clinic in a portion of the space.

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Capital Improvement Projects are undertaken by school districts across the state for various reasons. Firstly, districts receive State Building Aid to help cover project expenses. Our current Building Aid ratio is approximately 78 percent, meaning that for every dollar spent on eligible work, we receive about 78 cents back in aid. This aid makes it more cost-effective for districts to proactively address needs through planned projects rather than reactively responding to issues as they arise. Just like homes require periodic repairs and updates such as roof, boiler, or pipe replacements, schools must also plan for these needs. By including these items in a project, the district can benefit from Building Aid for the completed work.

 

Secondly, a Capital Improvement Project allows districts to enhance student programs and better support the community. Modifying existing spaces to improve student programs helps us prepare students for success both now and after high school. Updating and enhancing facilities also creates spaces that the community can use and enjoy.

The current transportation facility was constructed in 1940, and an addition was added to the building in 1963. The current facility needs a great deal of work to be done in order to update it, but it is also in a less than ideal location. The District has considered relocating the facility due to the safety and logistic concerns the location presents in the past but never included that relocation in a Capital Improvement Project. We are now in a position where we have two options:
    1. Make a significant investment to update a facility that is not in a great location.
    2. Build a new facility in a location that would eliminate the safety and logistical concerns that currently exist.
The District and the Facilities Committee believe that a new facility is the most prudent option.
Yes, safety was a significant consideration in the district’s plan to relocate the Transportation Facility. We believe that moving the Transportation Center off the Middle/High School campus will improve overall campus safety. Additionally, relocating the facility will create more parking spaces for events at the Middle/High School. The project also includes other safety enhancements, such as new paging systems for the Middle/High School and Elementary School, door replacements throughout the district, window hardware upgrades, and improvements to the fire alarm control panels.
The vast majority of districts in our region and across the state have their transportation facilities located on their campuses. In our case, we propose to build the new facility on the land the district currently owns. We do not believe it is fiscally responsible to purchase additional land for the sole purpose of constructing a new Transportation Facility when we already own land that we can use. Furthermore, buying property or an existing facility would be an unaided expense that could have a larger tax impact on the community. Additionally, we believe that having a building "off-campus" would create operational and security challenges.
The old bus garage will be repurposed into a student learning space where we will offer courses in Auto-Tech, Small Engine Repair, Welding and other related subjects. By offering these courses, we aim to provide students with an Agricultural Education Pathway to graduation. Having these courses available on-site will allow more students to access these electives, providing them with the opportunity to learn valuable life skills. We are currently in discussions with WFL BOCES to explore the possibility of using the old facility as a satellite site for CTE programs. If the old garage can serve as a satellite site for CTE programs, it could potentially generate revenue for the district. We are also proposing the space adjacent to the Bus bays be converted into a School Based or School Linked Health Clinic. This would allow students, and potentially community members, access to health care, mental health care and dental care at no cost to the District and may also allow us to generate revenue.
The District currently transports every student in the District who would like to ride the bus. Our Board Policy on student transportation was adopted to eliminate the need for students on 5 & 20, as well as in other locations in the District that had no sidewalks, to have to walk to school. The policy was designed to protect the safety of all students. Currently around 70% of the students in the District elect to ride the bus.
The proposed project would address the separation of bus and parent traffic. The proposed project would provide a driveway that would allow buses to enter and exit the new Transportation Facility via Oakmount Avenue. This would provide buses with two means of egress (Oakmount or 444) in case of an emergency. The Facilities Committee placed a priority on safety considerations and felt that providing busses two means of egress off Campus was important.
Adding turf to the Upper Baseball and Softball infields was not something that we had originally planned on. We originally had planned to locate the new Transportation Facility adjacent to the Elementary School. We selected that location because it would not disturb any existing athletic fields. That location required quite a bit of cut and fill work and that work proved to be extremely expensive. To bring the budget down we looked at building the facility on land that was already flat, where the JV softball field is currently located. Building the new facility there would be much less expensive but would mean that we would lose a softball field as well as a baseball field. To address this, we looked at replacing these fields with new fields as part of the project. To build two new grass ball fields and provide the proper drainage etc. also proved to be extremely expensive. The Committee then discussed adding turf to the Upper fields to allow them to be utilized more often. The price for that was within the budget we targeted. The addition of the turf infields will allow us to better support our softball and baseball programs. Adding turf infields also allows us to also be in a better position to host sectional events, which would bring some benefits to our community.
In the Bloomfield School District Capital Improvement projects are developed through the work and collaboration of a Facilities Committee. The Facilities Committee includes individuals from the District’s architect firm, the community, our facilities department, the Board of Education, and the leadership team.

The Facilities Committee collaboratively reviewed our Building Conditions Survey, which identifies necessary infrastructure work, and examined a list of items that we aimed to accomplish in past projects but were not completed. The committee assessed the district’s needs and discussed how the project could address these requirements. The group then prioritized the list, factoring in cost considerations to develop the full scope of the proposed project. For this project, the focus was placed on health and safety, operations and efficiencies, and student programming.

As previously mentioned, the most significant aspect of this project will be the construction of a new Transportation Facility. The new facility will be situated off the Middle/High School Campus and will be capable of accommodating all types of buses, as well as making the Middle/High School campus much safer. Relocating the transportation building would necessitate a reconfiguration of the parking layout at the Middle/High School, resulting in increased parking space. This will allow us to repurpose the current facility into student learning spaces, where we could offer education in areas such as auto technology, small engine repair, and welding. The new facility would include a parking lot for use as overflow parking for the upper baseball and softball fields as well. As previously noted, the other major item included in the project will be the addition of a turf infield on both the upper baseball and upper softball fields. The turf is necessary due to the displacement of the lower softball and baseball fields. The turf infields will enable both fields to be utilized more frequently, regardless of weather conditions. It was noted that the total cost of this project, minus the cost of the Transportation Facility, is right in line with what projects in the past have come in at.
The District did engage the Town in a conversation prior to COVID related to the potential of a partnership to build a shared facility. When the funding for a study on this ran out, the conversation never went any farther. The law does call for municipalities to eventually convert their vehicles to electric a few years after school districts are required to convert their fleets.
The District has actively advocated for the governor and the members of the legislature to re-examine the timeline for this mandate. It should be noted that many other Districts have already purchased EV busses and the majority of those Districts are reporting that it has been a positive experience. We do share concerns about the feasibility of the mandate and the current timeline. At this point, the legislative majority and the governor are unwilling to change the timeline, so districts are left in a position in which they must now demonstrate efforts to at least prepare to meet the mandate at its current timeline. In our case, the proposed project would demonstrate a good faith effort to meet the mandate and make us potentially eligible for a waiver. In addition, the District is currently eligible to get free EV chargers. These free chargers would bring a considerable cost savings in the project.
The new Transportation Facility is not being built solely to support EV buses. The District has had a desire to relocate the current Transportation Facility for the last two decades. As noted previously, the current location provides safety and logistical challenges in the garage as well as on the M/HS campus. In the early 1980’s the District actually purchased land to build a new facility on, but discovered the land was in a watershed area thus making a building project impossible. Recently New York State passed a law mandating all public-school districts in New York State to purchase Electric (EV) buses. This mandate, which will currently prohibit schools from purchasing gas or diesel-powered school buses, begins in the 2027 school year. The law also requires school districts to have their entire fleet converted to fully electric busses by the year 2035. Given this mandate the District has two options:
    1. Make a significant investment to update a facility that is not in a great location.
    2. Build a new facility in a location that would eliminate the safety and logistical concerns that currently exist.
Currently, EV buses are much more expensive than gas or diesel buses, but the state and federal government are currently offering grants to greatly reduce the cost. The District has engaged in a feasibility study and has also completed a free “Fleet Transition Plan” through NYSERDA. By participating in these the District is now eligible for grant opportunities to make the transition much more manageable. Many Districts have already purchased EV buses to add to their fleets. Without the infrastructure to support EV buses, the District cannot currently take advantage of grants and rebates that are available.
During the Districts feasibility study and Fleet Transition Plan completion we learned that RG&E would be able to supply the power needed to charge our buses. It is important to note that RG&E is not the only electric provider in the region and that each utility provider is different. In our case, it appears that RG&E is prepared and able to support our power needs.
We are looking at including a generator that would service the new Transportation Facility as part of this project. The generator would be able to charge some buses in the event of a power outage. We are also looking into how we might be able to store additional power to support EV buses.
The District has included energy efficiencies in past Capital Improvement projects. Previous projects included the installation of solar panels on rooftops to help augment utility power and have also included the installation of energy-efficient lighting to reduce the district's utility costs. The energy efficiencies have helped save the District tens of thousands of dollars on energy costs. The District is exploring the option of adding some solar panels to the proposed project. These panels would potentially be installed on the rooftops of small coverings over charging stations. The covering would provide some shelter for the busses and the solar panels would provide augmented power to the chargers.
The proposed project will total $35 million dollars. It is important to note that Capital Improvement Projects are eligible for State Aid. With a building aid ratio of just under 78%, approximately 78 cents would be received in state aid for every dollar spent on the project. $3.5 million dollars will be utilized from the District's Capital Project Reserve to mitigate the local share impact, which we estimate to be approximately 21 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. All in all, this would amount to an increase of $21 / year on a $100,000 home, $42 / year on a $200,000 home, and $63 / year on a $300,000 home. For those eligible for Basic or Enhanced STAR the impact would be even less.
The district is holding an Open House at the current Bus Garage on November 16, where the community is invited to see firsthand the issues with the current facility, ask questions, and learn more about the project. Additionally, a Public Hearing on the proposed project will be held on Monday, December 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Elementary School Cafeteria. The community is encouraged to attend to ask questions, share concerns, and learn more. Further information can also be found on our district website (Bloomfieldcsd.org) under the "Capital Project" tab. Community members are also welcome to call (585-657-6121) or email ([email protected]) with any questions or comments related to the project.

The public vote on the proposed project will take place on Tuesday, December 17, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Middle/High School LGI, located near the Athletic Entrance to the Middle/High School.

Additional Information Coming Soon.