Voters reject Saranac capital project

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February 9, 2010

By STEPHEN BARTLETT The Press Republican Tue Feb 09, 2010, 08:42 PM EST

SARANAC — Saranac Central School District voters overwhelmingly defeated the proposed $17.5 million capital project there by a vote of 636 to 355.

“The voters spoke loud and clear,” Saranac School Superintendent Ken Cringle said.

The rejection likely had much to do with the mindset of area residents, he said, as well as people across the country who feel battered during tough economic times.

“Certainly the voter results will influence our next steps concerning our building needs,” Cringle said. “We will just need to reflect on the outcome and create and discuss future options.”

Richard Chase, who voted against the project, said school officials better “sharpen their pencils.”

“I put my kids through school, and I got grandchildren here,” he said. “The boilers I understand, but you don’t have to go to $17 million.”

Saranac school officials touted the proposal as a $17.5 million energy, technology and facility capital project. More than 80 percent of it was energy and technology related and included work at Saranac Middle/High School and Morrisonville and Saranac elementary schools.

Work included replacing boilers, windows, water heaters and lighting, as well as upgrading playing fields and playgrounds and purchasing interactive white boards.

The plan would bring areas of the district in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act.

The project also included a 3,000-square-foot addition at Saranac Elementary School that would house classroom space and the district office, which is now located in a building near Dannemora Elementary School.

That building is part of a preliminary sales agreement with a prospective buyer that also includes the school buildings in Cadyville and Dannemora that were closed in July 2006.

“I think that some of the improvements they were proposing wouldn’t be helpful, such as the expansion, when they are selling two buildings,” said Rheta Recore, who voted no Tuesday evening.

“Given the economy and people losing jobs left and right, it is not helpful. I understand the boilers, but upgrading sports’ fields seemed unnecessary. I understand maintenance, but some of the improvements were frivolous.”

The district would have received $583,878 in EXCEL funding, and the project total also qualified for 90-percent reimbursement from New York state. That would have reduced the annual cost to taxpayers to roughly $100,000 annually for 15 years, which equated to about 16 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

The taxpayer obligation wasn’t expected to kick in for about two years.

The district estimated the project would have resulted in annual energy savings of at least $211,000.

School officials had stressed that district equipment is failing and therefore costly, especially boilers, which have far surpassed their life expectancy. They also wanted to take the opportunity to catch up on technology upgrades for students.

The defeat Tuesday night was likely a disappointment to residents such as Matt Kelting, who voted in favor of the project.

“I think it is important as far as infrastructure and capital improvement,” he said. “My children go here, and it sounded like they needed an update on their systems.”

Gary Barkla voted yes too, even though his daughter likely would have graduated before benefiting from the work.

“I supported it because I think it will be left better than it was when I came,” he said. “It seems a little overpriced, but it is hard to turn it down with the state picking up most of it.”

E-mail Stephen Bartlett at:

sbartlett@pressrepublican.com