When the Rye City School District and Board of Education needed help with gas, they notified State Assemblyman George Latimer and immediately found relief. At Tuesday’s regular meeting, School Board members presented Latimer with an Extra Mile award for helping them successfully navigate a switchover from oil to gas heat for the high school and middle school. Board member Ed Fox detailed the three-year struggle with Con Edison to install a gas line from the street to the schools.
By Sarah Varney
When the Rye City School District and Board of Education needed help with gas, they notified State Assemblyman George Latimer and immediately found relief. At Tuesday’s regular meeting, School Board members presented Latimer with an Extra Mile award for helping them successfully navigate a switchover from oil to gas heat for the high school and middle school. Board member Ed Fox detailed the three-year struggle with Con Edison to install a gas line from the street to the schools.
“At one point, they wanted $300,000 to run 800 feet of 12-inch gas line from the street. Time went by and we went back to them and they said they’d need $500,000,” said Fox, who presented the award to Latimer. Latimer was credited with bringing Con Edison, New York Public Service Commissioner William Wade and the School District together to get the line installed at a huge cost savings. With the switch to natural gas, the district expects to save “slightly under” $200,000 on annual heating costs, according to Fox.
Alan Drury, a Con Edison spokesman, called the switch a complex, three-year process. A high-pressure gas line would have been much costlier, he said, but the parties agreed on a low-pressure line that cost the district about $84,825 to install.
There also was good budgeting news related to construction of a science wing at the high school. Representatives from KSQ Architects and Triton Construction, along with the district’s logistics liaison, Dean Sproch of Savin Engineering, reported that the project is on time and slightly under budget at this point in the process. Signoff on the technical building documents by Superintendent Frank Alvarez and Board President Laura Slack will take place this week. By October 19, the plans will be sent to the State Education Department Office of Facilities and Planning. According to Kathleen Ryan, Assistant Superintendent for Business, the approval process will take three to four months, which is in line with the 16-month project schedule.
On the planning side, Triton Construction CEO Nicolas Andreadis reported that the project is within 1% of the targeted budget. “We are well within the margin: Five percent is the industry standard. The budget looks good, so we’re well on our way,” he said.
Prices for steel and other building materials are stable and “contractors are still hungry,” Andreadis added.
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