Flipping, Select Board Endorses Middle School Project

 HARWICH – The select board on Monday night reconsidered its recommendation to indefinitely postpone the Monomoy Regional Middle School siding and window reconstruction project funding request, voting unanimously to endorse a debt exclusion authorization for $9,007,030 in Monday’s annual town meeting.  

 The renovation project is estimated to cost $11.5 million, but the school district received $2.5 million for the work last year.

 The board’s vote came after a presentation on the failing condition of the siding and windows at the Chatham school which have led to mold and air quality complaints. 

MRMS Building Committee co-chair Ed McManus said there is significant deterioration to the siding, pine trim and windows installed 28 years ago. The rotting cedar drip edges are no longer diverting water away from the building, he said. 

“Pine trim around windows and the entire building is rapidly deteriorating, creating openings for rainwater,” McManus said. “Spray foam insulation has been used to keep rainwater out. But the birds take it out and use it for their nests.”

Plywood sheathing is rotting in some areas and can lead to fungal growth, said McManus. Interior drywall and insulation remain largely unaffected, although rainwater is penetrating around some windows, impacting drywalls and sills. Making the repairs now will preserve the overall building condition, he said.  

“Wet sheathing is starting to grow mold and it would make an $11.5 million project a lot more expensive,” said McManus.

Based on the current school funding formula, Harwich’s share of the $9,007,030 cost would be $6,918,300. A debt exclusion ballot question is also necessary to approve the funding. Chatham will be asked to approve its $2,088,730 share at the May 10 annual town meeting.

Superintendent of Schools Scott Carpenter said school officials are seeking a Green School Program grant which could cover the cost of windows. If the entire grant is approved, the overall cost would be reduced by $2.1 million. He said the window replacement would also improve energy efficiency in the school.

The project is the first of two planned for the middle school. Replacement of the roof will be addressed next year, with the cost  estimated at $8.5 million. The district has applied for Massachusetts School Building Authority accelerated repair funding which would cover 37 percent of the total. Both towns would split the remaining $5.3 million cost based on the current funding formula, with Harwich paying 76.81 percent and Chatham 23.19 percent. MSBA funds are not available for the siding project, Carpenter said.

 The average impact to Harwich taxpayers for the siding and window project was estimated at $58 per year based on 25-year borrowing. The impact from the roofing project would be approximately $20 per year. Select Board member Julie Kavanagh noted that the $58 assessment would go down if the Green School Program funding is approved for the project.