MARBLEHEAD — The condition of the high school roof is a going concern for the Marblehead Facilities Committee.
There have been numerous reports of leaks coming from the roof and due to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units being out of order, there have been days when school was called off. According to School Committee Co-Chair Sarah Fox, this is a time-sensitive situation that many students, teachers, faculty, and parents have been waiting to be fixed.
The Marblehead Facilities Subcommittee met last Tuesday afternoon to discuss the topic. At the meeting, attendees from both Left Field, the project managers; and Raymond Design Associates (RDA), the project designers were present. Left field prepared a presentation to further explain the different options and costs associated with each option.
According to the committee, the roof is nearing the end of its projected life.
To begin the presentation Left Field provided an aerial map layout of MHS with blue boxes representing wet insulation and green circles representing all Dec. 2024 leaks. There were 43 wet insulation boxes and 22 leaks in December of this year.
The next aerial map of MHS displayed the different sections of the school with the roof re-cover construction costs per area. While these costs do not include HVAC replacements, the total of all sections is $5,491,304.
Leena Long, a member of Left Field, presented four different options for the roof and HVAC, if desired, replacements. Long explained option A1 is the recommended option that would provide a roof re-cover and replace all HVAC rooftop equipment. This option would consist of a total budget cost of $13.97 million which would be $8.61 million over the budget of $5.36 million.
Option C presented by Long was the only option that fits within the budget. This option includes a partial roof re-cover and no replacement of the HVAC systems. This option would not include the gymnasium or the library which is responsible for three leaks in Dec. 2024 and two wet insulations.
Gene Raymond, a member of RDA, went into depth on the existing HVAC systems. The equipment is nearing the end of its lifespan as they are 24 years old currently.
One of the main issues presented by the School Committee at their previous meeting was the problem of doing the roof and HVAC systems separately. The new roof would come with a warranty and if the HVAC systems are replaced after the new roof installation, it would void the warranty. Molly Parris, another member of Left Field emphasized this during the presentation on Tuesday.
If the School Committee and other officials were to decide only to do the roof, rather than both at the same time, there would still be costs associated with the HVAC systems. Due to them being placed on the roof, in order to replace the roof those systems would need to be uninstalled, lifted, replaced back down, and reinstalled. Left Field shared this information during their presentation and expressed there are costs that come with that process.
Fox ended the meeting explaining that the School Committee will need to discuss all options and come to an agreement on the most reasonable and cost effective option.
