PARIS — SAD 17 Superintendent Rick Colpitts told the Board of Directors that there is still a lot of work to be done, but the district continues to prioritize, fund and make necessary renovations at the school facilities.

The comments were made as the SAD 17 Board of Directors approved the annual Capital Renewal Plan at its April 2 meeting. The plan is a list of facility renovation and maintenance items that need to be addressed. They range from new boilers to restoring flooring and roofs.

The plan, which is updated and prioritized by school officials and reviewed by the Operations Committee each year, includes the project costs, what fiscal year the project took place or is slated to take place and the funding source.

Colpitts described the list as “a reminder we have things to do.”

The list includes items completed years ago as a method of retaining the cost data and other pertinent information.

It does not include school safety issues that the district is planning to address through the Revolving Renovation Fund next year when an architect will come in, review each school building, and prepare project specifications to go out to bid.

In his presentation, Facilities Director Dean Dillingham highlighted needs at each of the school buildings.

For example, a leaking boiler will be replaced at the Harrison Elementary School at a cost of $129,000. That cost is already budgeted in the Fiscal 2019 proposed budget. There are also a number of pending projects for the upcoming fiscal year that have not yet been budgeted.

Some pending items include carpet and tile replacement in the area by the bus loading lobby at the Rowe Elementary School. The floor dates from 1985, said Dillingham.

At the Oxford Elementary School a major project will include tieing into the town’s new sewer system.

“That will be big for us. We’ve had some issues with the pumps in the past,” Dillingham told the board. Currently, the sewer system comes out near the kitchen end of the building, goes into tanks and gets pumped up on the hill behind the school. The new system will tie into the street.

There will also be a partial property survey by the Oxford Annex to better define property lines, particularly near the Oxford Town Office, Dillingham said.

At the Waterford Elementary School, the exterior of the building will be painted and the fire alarm dialer will be replaced.

At the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School there will be replacement of some exterior windows and other items.

Some repairs are being delayed until decisions are made on the funding sources, such as the high school roof and HVAC system replacement and a decision on state funding for a new or major renovations at the middle school in Paris and elementary school in West Paris.

Colpitts told the board that they should be proud of the work that has been accomplished so far.

“We sometimes overlook the fact that if you look through this list and things that have been completed, you folks have done a lot of work and you should be proud of yourselves,”  Colpitts said.

ldixon@sunmediagroup.net