MORIAH — The $9.9 million renovation project that tore apart Moriah Central School is nearly complete.
The work upgraded the school swimming pool, auditorium, roof, cafeteria kitchen, boiler room, parking lots, Elementary School office and physical-fitness and technology rooms.
The school is holding an open house at 7 p.m. today to show the community the improvements. Participants should meet in the school auditorium to join the tour.
District voters approved the project in 2010, and there was no local cost, Superintendent William Larrow said.
Expanding our Children’s Education and Learning (EXCEL) aid from the State Department of Education paid for the entire project, he said.
The architect for the project was Synthesis of Schenectady, with the general contractor Riznick Construction of Crown Point.
“It’s coming to an end,” the superintendent said. “We’re going over the punch list now.”
ROOF REPLACED
They have one more upgrade, to the school electrical control panel, Larrow said.
“We will have enough money left over to finish that.”
Clerk of the Works Calvin Nephew came out of retirement to oversee the project.
“The roof was a significant item; it was replaced, with a 30-plus-year warranty on the new roof,” he said. “And the new boiler room is really nice.”
The district replaced two huge, aging heating boilers with seven state-of-the art electronically monitored boilers.
“The boilers are zoned now,” Larrow said. “We can independently heat different areas of the school.”
POOL LIKE NEW
The project improved almost all of their facilities, the superintendent said.
“We have wireless Internet throughout the building now,” Larrow said. “We added cameras for security purposes. We also completed the physical fitness room. We’ll open it (fitness) back up to the community in the fall.”
Nephew said the school pool, installed in 1971, had never had a significant upgrade until now.
“That pool was a major part of the project. The walls were stripped down and reinforced with rebar. A new ventilation system was added.”
Larrow said they’ll again offer public swimming with lifeguards on duty.
“Kids will see a brand-new pool when they return. It was closed from Nov. 7 on, last year.”
SAFER PARKING LOT
The school can now be used as an emergency shelter, Larrow said, with their cogeneration plant as a 400-kilowatt backup.
The parking lot was redesigned to be safer, he said.
“It’s much more safe, with two crosswalks. Kids don’t have to run between the cars anymore (to get to school).”
Moriah Central School is about 177,000 square feet. It opened in 1968, after the town’s schools had all merged.
Email Lohr McKinstry: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
