Marblehead school repair cost rising; current estimate nearing $22 million

MARBLEHEAD-Long-awaited repairs at the Marblehead Village School may cost more than some are ready to pay: the current figure is $21.9 million and that amount met with some resistance during a tour of the building Wednesday night.The project that some members of the Building Oversight Committee have been studying since 2003 starts with replacing the two boilers at the 123,000-square-foot, 700-student, 116-employee school. The boilers date back to 1957 and 1968. They are on their last legs and are on a day-to-day status.But according to committee member Michael Rockett, the town planned a lot more than boiler replacement in 2003, and the total cost of that work carried a $31 million price tag. That project never went forward because the state shut down its School Building Assistance program for retooling.Boiler replacement also requires moving the heating pipes, which are currently under the building, and relocating them above the ceilings. The work also triggers a need to replace the 1957 roof, plumbing, lighting and a number of single-pane windows as well, and the school needs fire alarm improvements and because of the cost of the project certain handicapped-accessibility improvements are required too.The BOC report to Town Meeting, scheduled to be complete April 3, will list the components of the project in two tiers with their cost: what must be done and what should be done. The project is not eligible for state reimbursement. The town will have to pay for the work with a bond issue.?We?re going to try to get the number as low as possible,” Rockett told the School Committee Thursday evening.?If you?re going to replace the boilers it would be foolish not to do the roof and windows,” Building Oversight Committee member Rob Dana told town officials after the Wednesday tour. The tour group included selectmen and members of the Finance Committee and Capital Planning Committee.The committee has used Symmes Maini & McKee Associates, the architectural firm that did the 2004 school facilities report and was the architect for the high school and middle school projects, to make sure that the line item costs are correct.Rockett said his name was on the project and he will not go back to Town Meeting for more money once that body has voted.And he reminded them that the boiler replacement is on the verge of an emergency need. “The town?s going to spend the money here whether they like it or not,” he said. “Doing it this way means we can control it.”The evening began with a tour of the boiler room with Director of Facilities David Dunkley. Town officials observed first-hand the corrosion of many of the pipes, which are rotting from the inside out, and saw the foot or more of water under the school, where many of the current heating pipes run.?Outrageous,” said Selectmen Chairman Harry Christensen. He noted that the school was built on a marsh where he used to trap muskrats as a boy.Selectman James Nye pointed out that taxes burden many community residents, especially when the town faces a number of special projects. Chairman Victor Wild of the Capital Planning Committee asked what “the absolute emergency needs” were.The committee has already removed $9 million in contingencies. “We?re still working hard on the figure,” said School Committee Chairman Amy Drinker, a committee member. “It?s a big number for people to swallow, and we know that.”