As anticipated, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board voted unanimously to spend on several facility upgrades during their Jan. 20 meeting.
The first vote was for construction bids for the HVAC renovations at Unionville-Elementary School for a total, $1,364,000 which went to Gaudelli Brothers, Inc. for the HVAC contract, while $433,000 went to SB Conrad for the GC contract, 210,000 to Guy M Cooper for the plumbing contract, and $306,000 goes to Schipsi Electrical.
Also involved in the HVAC proposal was another $293,000 for Tri-M Group for the building management system controls.
The board also voted to install a rooftop solar array at the high school. The total cost of the project is $935,870, which went to TerraSol Energies located in Chadds Ford. Part of the cost is partially offset by a $300,000 award for the project that the district received last spring.
Also approved during the meeting was the awarding of a bid of $699,494 as listed for the outdoor learning classrooms at Unionville and Chadds Ford Elementary schools for outdoor learning classrooms.
That bidding went to G&B Construction for $676,942 for the GC contract, and $22,552 to Schipsi Electrical LLC for the electrical portion.
Lastly, the board voted to approve a cost proposal to furnish and install a new large-format projector at Pocopson Elementary’s gym/stage. That contact went to Visual Sound for $30,992.
Other business
The board voted to approve an Act 1 Index resolution. The approval, according to school board member Brian Schartz, constrains the board to stay within the Act 1 index for the upcoming budget.
The resolution reads in part: “The applicable index for the next fiscal year is 3.5 percent, and the School Board will not for the next fiscal year increase the rate of its real estate tax, or any other tax for the support of public education, by an amount that exceeds the applicable index.”
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
