Capital improvement project

In August 2018, Assistant Superintendent for Business and Management Services Patrick Cahill presented a proposed Capital Improvement Plan to the Monroe-Woodbury Board of Education. The plan replaces the outdated air conditioning system in Monroe-Woodbury High School and implements many updates to the high school athletic fields. The $8.4 million dollar project has have ZERO increase on the tax levy and no impact to taxpayers. On October 23, 2018, Monroe-Woodbury residents approved a resolution to use capital reserve funds to help cover the cost of the project.

Highlights

Total estimated project cost: $8,391,000; ZERO impact to taxpayers

Monroe-Woodbury High School – Cooling System

  • Replace cooling tower and chillers at HS – essentially the AC system
  • Current unit is past its useful life and in danger of failure
  • Newer unit will be more energy efficient,  resulting in cost savings and more uniform and consistent temperature and humidity levels at the high school

Monroe-Woodbury High School – Replacement of and upgrades to athletic fields

  • Replace grass athletic field #3 – (see diagram) – with multi-purpose artificial turf field
    • Striped and sized as a multi-purpose soccer, football and lacrosse field
    • Full regulation size for football and lacrosse and nearly maximum regulation size for soccer
    • New energy efficient lights
    • Remove excessive crown from middle of the field
  • Track Replacement
    • Replace aging and deteriorating six lane track with new regulation eight lane track
    • Will include steeplechase and additional jumping event facilities
  • Replace grass athletic field #12 (see diagram) with lighted multi-purpose artificial turf field
    • Striped and sized for soccer, baseball, lacrosse and softball
    • Maximum regulation size for soccer
    • Relocate and upgrade varsity softball field

Multiple sources of funding

Proposed project will be funded through a combination of funding sources:

  • $4.4 million from the capital reserve fund, which includes:
    • $1.5 million from NYS Department of Transportation for loss of 1.9 acres of district property due to construction project (Route 17/32)
    • $1 million one time state aid from Assemblyman Skoufis and the NYS Assembly
    • Surplus funds saved and transferred to reserve
      • Reserve balance = $2.8 million after $4.4 million withdrawal
  • $4 million – serial bonds (borrowing)

Zero Tax Impact!

  • District is eligible for approximately $5.8 million in building aid over 15 years, or 69.7 percent reimbursement. For every dollar spent, district gets approximately 70 cents back.
  • Annual reimbursement in state aid attributed to this project will be approximately $385,000, while annual debt service (principal and interest) is estimated to be $345,000. State aid exceeds the cost of borrowing, which means zero tax impact.

An architectural drawing of the proposed capital improvement project.