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WILKES-BARRE — During the public comment section of Wilkes-Barre Area School Board’s Jan. 9 meeting, attorney Ruth Borland dropped a number: $6.07 million. That’s how much, she said, the district has spent on the high school consolidation project, with almost nothing physical to show for it.

Asked about the figure, Borland provided a printed list of totals paid to five firms, and for asbestos abatement at Coughlin High School, but added that she did not do the calculations and did not have a detailed breakdown.

It turns out that her tally was a tad low, though the total can vary a bit based on what spending you include. A Times Leader review of bill payments approved by the board from January 2014 through the most recent meeting shows a bit more than $6.3 million has been spent on work on the proposed new high school and related projects.

Of that, $2.5 million went toward asbestos abatement in the original Coughlin building, which was abandoned in January 2016, when two grades were sent to the newly renovated Mackin Elementary building and the other two were moved to the newer Coughlin annex, which was built in the 1950s to provide a gym and additional class space.

The plan had been to build a new high school on the Coughlin site, combining grades 9-12 from Coughlin and Meyers high schools. The asbestos removal was necessary before razing Coughlin, and the next step would have been to find a place for students in the annex while asbestos was removed from that wing.

But the Wilkes-Barre Zoning Hearing Board rejected the school district’s request for variances needed on the Coughlin site. Although a school has been on the site for more than a century, it predates current zoning, which forced the need for a variance.

The board has decided not to appeal the Zoning Hearing Board ruling, which, at least for now, means it will neither build a new school on the site or raze the building. The board voted to cancel the contract for asbestos abatement in the annex. Asbestos there is sealed and “non-friable,” meaning it is no danger unless the building is renovated or razed.

Theoretically, that also means the $2.5 million in asbestos removal so far didn’t have to be spent. The board could choose to sell the building and lot as is, leaving abatement to the new owner — though having removed the asbestos almost certainly makes it easier to either sell or re-purpose the site.

A bit more than $1 million was spent on plans and initial ground tests for the expansion of Kistler Elementary, to house grades seven and eight currently at Meyers High School. That work also required a zoning variance, which was granted, but that ruling has been appealed in Luzerne County Court. The board has delayed any further action on Kistler until a ruling on that appeal.

Another $90,250 was paid to engineering firms for “Coughlin demolition,” and $12,750 on asbestos abatement at Meyers. The board also approved payment of $11,353 toward a proposed new stadium at the Solomon/Plains Memorial education complex.

Superintendent Brian Costello proposed looking into a second stadium in part because the district currently leases athletic fields from Wilkes-Barre, and because Memorial Stadium would likely be unusable for a year or two if the district decides to raze all or part of adjacent Meyers High School.

No plans have been formalized for Meyers, which would be closed. Costello did suggest preserving the auditorium, adorned with impressive stained glass — including a ceiling sporting 48 state seals, a testimony to its age — and building a magnet school around it for the performing arts that would operate in conjunction with other districts.

After asbestos abatement, the biggest expense so far was money listed as “new high school.” The four firms hired as the district’s “design team” have been developing plans for the building, which was to be four stories tall and fill all of the Coughlin property, including a field between the venerable building and Union Street.

While drawings of the general design have been released, the district has declined to provide detailed designs and specifications, rejecting a Right To Know request filed by attorney Kim Borland. The district argued that releasing the plans could ultimately put students and staff at risk because anyone seeking to do harm would use those building details to plan an attack.

The district’s argument has been rejected on appeal, first by the state Office of Open Records, and then by Luzerne County Judge Lesa Gelb. In both cases, the district was ordered to turn over the requested records.

During a December hearing before Gelb, District Solicitor Ray Wendolowski estimated plans for the new high school were about 60 percent complete.

The fate of those plans is in limbo as the district is looking for another place to build, thanks to the Zoning Hearing Board ruling. At the Dec. 9 meeting, the board voted to spend up to $51,000 to look at three sites previously not considered, all in Plains Township. It also voted to sell some district-owned land along Empire Street in Wilkes-Barre. That lot had been considered as one of seven sites originally reviewed for possible high school construction during a state-required district feasibility study.

The “up to $51,000” to review three new sites is essentially an extension of the original feasibility study, which at $479,429, is the fourth highest single cost so far on the project, behind asbestos abatement, the new High School, and the Kistler addition/renovation costs.

Prior to the Zoning Hearing Board ruling, Wendolowski had said the high school plans would still be usable at another site, with modification, because the specific requirements for classroom and other space will not change regardless of where the building goes.

FOR WEB
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_WBA-costs-1-16-2017.jpg.optimal.jpgFOR WEB

This artist rendering shows the planned new high school on the site of Meyers High SChool in Wilkes-Barre.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Exterior-Aerial-View.jpg.optimal.jpgThis artist rendering shows the planned new high school on the site of Meyers High SChool in Wilkes-Barre.

This artist rendering shows the planned new high school on the site of Meyers High SChool in Wilkes-Barre.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Exterior-Aerial-ViewCMYK.jpg.optimal.jpgThis artist rendering shows the planned new high school on the site of Meyers High SChool in Wilkes-Barre.

This rendering shows the lobby of the proposed new high school.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Lobby-High-School-Lobby.jpg.optimal.jpgThis rendering shows the lobby of the proposed new high school.

This rendering shows the lobby of the proposed new high school.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/web1_Lobby-High-School-LobbyCMYK.jpg.optimal.jpgThis rendering shows the lobby of the proposed new high school.
Attorney: Almost nothing physical to show for it

By Mark Guydish

[email protected]

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish.