News
Hazleton Area officials are considering using federal stimulus funds for completing a second large-scale school auditorium project in recent years.
Two years after volunteers launched a community fundraiser for refurbishing the auditorium at the former Hazleton High School, the school board Capital Projects Committee is considering using about $200,000 in federal stimulus funds for auditorium renovations at Hazleton Area High School, West 23rd Street.
The latest project would most likely replace carpet and upgrade lighting and sound systems at an auditorium that has not been renovated since the high school was built in the early 1990s, school officials say.
Engineers from Barry Isett and Associates recently estimated that the upgrades would cost the district more than $565,000, but officials from the cash-strapped district plan to lower those estimates, focusing on essential equipment.
A committee of school officials that includes Director of Operations Carl Yorina and school director Robert Mehalick is planning the renovation project and could have bids prepared within the next two weeks.
The business office reserved about $200,000 in federal stimulus funds for the project and officials expect to keep the project within that budget, Yorina said.
"The big thing over there more than anything is sound," Yorina explained. "We'll look at what we can afford and what we can do."
Work will most likely be completed over the summer.
Gregg Pavlick, of Barry Isett and Associates, recently gave the Capital Projects committee a tentative project schedule and an itemized list of projected costs.
Contracts could be awarded by May and construction could begin in late June, documents say. The project has a mid-August completion date.
Pavlick estimates that the entire project - with mobilization, carpet removal/replacement, stage floor refinishing, stage curtain replacement and lighting, dimming and sound system upgrades - would cost about $479,000. Stage curtains account for about $202,000 of the overall costs while lighting, dimming and sound improvements are estimated at $198,000.
Inspections, legal fees and a 15 percent - or $71,000 - contingency pushes the overall project to $565,494.
Pavlick said stage curtains would have to be replaced and are so brittle that they would most likely "disintegrate" if crews were to attempt to take them down.
Capital Projects Committee Chairman Tony Bonomo suggested focusing on items essential to shows and auditorium functions.
"People who attend events at the auditorium are not telling you how bad the curtain is," he said. "They're telling you how bad the lighting and sound systems are."
Director Steve Hahn suggested soliciting bids for the entire work scope, but writing specifications so that all non-essential items can be deducted at the board's choosing.
Business Manager Anthony Ryba suggested applying for additional auditorium funds in this year's allotment of stimulus funds while board President Paulette Platukis said the community might be interested in donating to defray the cost of the curtain.
Director Brian Earley asked engineers to look into a possible grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Earley said the agency has grants available for projects that promote high-efficiency lighting systems.
"You'd have to upgrade the existing lighting system and have to show a savings," he said.
Pavlick offered to check into the grant.
The school board discussed auditorium upgrades at Hazleton Area High School shortly after a committee dedicated to renovating the auditorium at the former Hazleton High School, or "Castle," announced that they've collected about $3.6 million in grants and donations, which includes a $1.2 million allocation from the school district.
Two years after volunteers launched a community fundraiser for refurbishing the auditorium at the former Hazleton High School, the school board Capital Projects Committee is considering using about $200,000 in federal stimulus funds for auditorium renovations at Hazleton Area High School, West 23rd Street.
The latest project would most likely replace carpet and upgrade lighting and sound systems at an auditorium that has not been renovated since the high school was built in the early 1990s, school officials say.
Engineers from Barry Isett and Associates recently estimated that the upgrades would cost the district more than $565,000, but officials from the cash-strapped district plan to lower those estimates, focusing on essential equipment.
A committee of school officials that includes Director of Operations Carl Yorina and school director Robert Mehalick is planning the renovation project and could have bids prepared within the next two weeks.
The business office reserved about $200,000 in federal stimulus funds for the project and officials expect to keep the project within that budget, Yorina said.
"The big thing over there more than anything is sound," Yorina explained. "We'll look at what we can afford and what we can do."
Work will most likely be completed over the summer.
Gregg Pavlick, of Barry Isett and Associates, recently gave the Capital Projects committee a tentative project schedule and an itemized list of projected costs.
Contracts could be awarded by May and construction could begin in late June, documents say. The project has a mid-August completion date.
Pavlick estimates that the entire project - with mobilization, carpet removal/replacement, stage floor refinishing, stage curtain replacement and lighting, dimming and sound system upgrades - would cost about $479,000. Stage curtains account for about $202,000 of the overall costs while lighting, dimming and sound improvements are estimated at $198,000.
Inspections, legal fees and a 15 percent - or $71,000 - contingency pushes the overall project to $565,494.
Pavlick said stage curtains would have to be replaced and are so brittle that they would most likely "disintegrate" if crews were to attempt to take them down.
Capital Projects Committee Chairman Tony Bonomo suggested focusing on items essential to shows and auditorium functions.
"People who attend events at the auditorium are not telling you how bad the curtain is," he said. "They're telling you how bad the lighting and sound systems are."
Director Steve Hahn suggested soliciting bids for the entire work scope, but writing specifications so that all non-essential items can be deducted at the board's choosing.
Business Manager Anthony Ryba suggested applying for additional auditorium funds in this year's allotment of stimulus funds while board President Paulette Platukis said the community might be interested in donating to defray the cost of the curtain.
Director Brian Earley asked engineers to look into a possible grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Earley said the agency has grants available for projects that promote high-efficiency lighting systems.
"You'd have to upgrade the existing lighting system and have to show a savings," he said.
Pavlick offered to check into the grant.
The school board discussed auditorium upgrades at Hazleton Area High School shortly after a committee dedicated to renovating the auditorium at the former Hazleton High School, or "Castle," announced that they've collected about $3.6 million in grants and donations, which includes a $1.2 million allocation from the school district.
