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PLAINS TWP. — Tuesday’s Wilkes-Barre Area School Board Meeting including s litany of spending approvals on both existing building and the new consolidated high school.

The board agreed to have Mark J. Sobeck Roof Consulting Inc., of Wilkes-Barre, do roof consulting and inspections at the new high school at a rate “not to exceed $9,900.” The money will pay for up to 132 hours at $75 per hour inspecting the work on the roof before and during construction.

WKL Architecture was given the green light to draw up plans expanding the new high school pool from six lanes to eight at a “not to exceed” cost of $27,000. Superintendent Brian Costello said the added cost had been budgeted in the overall borrowing for the project, estimated at $121 million to consolidate grades 9-12 from three high schools.

Costello similarly stressed that the decision to give Geo-Science Engineering and Testing LLC, up to $33,000 for designing a Radon Mitigation System for the new school was within the budget, and was made strictly as a precaution. He said there is no expectation radon will be a problem in the building, but that it was easier to install piping and other equipment for venting during early construction.

The board approved 22 change orders — three of them cost reductions — with three contractors for the new high school at a total cost of $58,552. Costello again said the additional costs were still within the planned budget.

The change orders with Quandel totaled $26,816 and mostly involved technical changes such as steel deck support for the stage and changes in lintels and joists.

Stell Enterprises Inc., which is doing site work, saw changes totaling $4,572, with the biggest cost at $28,413 for removal and replacement of unsuitable soil where a paved bus loop is planned. That was offset by$33,488 in savings for mine subsidence remediation work.

And Everon Electrical Contractors got $27,164 in changes, much of which was for 35 power hand dryers for restrooms. Costello said this was well below the budgeted plan of $116,000 for about 100 dryers.

Regarding existing schools, the board approved an agreement with NRG Controls North Inc., for preventive maintenance on heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at all three current district high schools and Flood, Kistler and Heights-Murray elementary schools. The contract is $21,500 per year for the first two years and $22,500 for the third year.

A contract was also approved with Otis Elevator to repair the elevator at Heights-Murray for $20,499.

The meeting opened with kudos to three athletic teams that did well this fall in the first year of consolidated sports teams: The girls field hockey team and the boys soccer team won their respective district 2 class 4A championships, while the football team made it to, but lost, the district championship game.

Board President Joe Caffrey praised outgoing members James Susek and James Geiger. Susek lost his bid for reelection in the May primary election while Geiger chose not to run for another term. Tuesday was the last board meeting before their terms expire. Susek choked back tears as he recounted the success of his three children after graduating from the district, then offered advice for new members: One day you’ll be sworn in, the next day you’ll be sworn at.

And Michael Krzywicki from Apollo Group Inc., the district construction manager, gave an update on the new high school, including soil testing near the new Maffett Street entrance. There were no detectable amounts of hexavalent chromium, though two samples had levels of arsenic slightly above standard. Krzywicki said the state Department of Environmental Protection required an additional 6 inches of top soil.

Work continues on what will be the new Wilkes-Barre Area HS. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_TTL100319School7.cmyk_.jpg.optimal.jpgWork continues on what will be the new Wilkes-Barre Area HS. Aimee Dilger|Times Leader

By Mark Guydish

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