FARMINGTON — A 4- to 6-inch difference in the concrete and paved surface of the bus garage parking lot in Regional School Unit 9 has caused some employees to trip and be seriously hurt.

The project has been on the to-do list like many other capital improvements for years but has continuously been removed from spending plans because of lack of funding.

Jonathan Chalmers, district support services director, and Superintendent Tom Ward looked at the parking lot Monday. A lot of people park on the lot when there’s no parking available at the Middle School, Chalmers said.

He is not sure if the parking lot has been touched since the garage was built in early 1970s.

It’s estimated it will cost $60,000 to excavate the paved area, remove concrete sections, replace gravel and install new pavement.

This project and others on the priority list are important, he said, because preventive maintenance is cheaper than full replacement.

“These are all items we didn’t have to increase the budget to do,” Ward said. The improvements will cost taxpayers less and can be paid over time. It is a good time to do it with the district paying off two bonds, one in 2017-18 and another in 2018-19, he said.

The district is proposing a $317,834 bond to be repaid over 10 years to take care of projects on the priority list. 

Business Manager Kris Potter estimated the annual payment, using an estimated 3½ percent interest, would be about $30,217. The bonds to be paid off have annual payments of $29,104 and $48,232, respectively.

A public hearing on the bond proposal and informational meeting on a proposed $33.89 million 2017-18 school budget will be held at 7 p.m. May 23 at the Forum at Mt. Blue Campus in Farmington. The bond and budget validation referendums will be held June 13 in the 10 district towns.

The oil boiler at the bus garage also needs to be replaced, along with new supply and return piping at a cost of $35,000. The project was approved in the current budget but because of unforeseen districtwide costs, it was pushed back.

Other top priorities on the list are:

Cushing School, Wilton

• Replace gym roof because a section of the building is laminated wood frame with wood roof deck showing water stains. Cost is $37,000.

• Replace old single-pane wood and aluminum-framed windows with double-pane low E argon, high performance window to improve heating efficiency and security. Cost is $43,000.

• Installation of flat-panel LED lights in six classrooms to save energy and reduce maintenance costs. Cost is $9,000.

Cascade Brook School, Farmington

• Pneumatic heating controls removed/upgraded. Cost is $19,081.

Cape Cod Hill School, New Sharon

• Main entrance/bus unloading area needs work. Existing concrete surface to be removed and replaced with pavement. Cost is $11,303.

• Window replacement of second-floor classroom with double-pane low E argon windows. Cost is $35,000.

Adult Education, Mt. Blue Campus

• Paving for wheelchair transfer area and installing 11 additional parking spaces, including two handicapped spaces. Cost is $25,000.

Mount Blue Campus

• F-Wing air conditioning for second floor. Seven classrooms with fixed windows to get air conditioners. Project includes new electrical circuitry and direct venting to outside. Cost is $23,450.

Mt. Blue Middle School

• Replace domestic H2O storage tanks installed more than 10 years ago. One of them has failed. Cost is $20,000.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

Regional School Unit 9 Superintendent Tom Ward, left, and Jonathan Chalmers, director of district’s support services, show the unevenness in pavement and concrete in the parking lot at the bus garage in Farmington on Monday. A public hearing on a $317,834 bond to fix the lot and make other facility repairs will be held at 7 p.m. May 23 in the Forum at Mt. Blue Campus in Farmington. 

Jonathan Chalmers, Regional School Unit 9 director of support services, left, shows the uneven surface at the district bus garage on Learning Lane in Farmington on Monday. Some employees have tripped on the uneven surface and received serious injuries, officials said.

Uneven parking surfaces at the Regional School Unit 9 bus garage in Farmington are slated for a fix under a bond proposal slated for a public hearing this month.