Francis Howell Board Approves HVAC Systems, Doesn't Move Forward on Turf Fields

When it comes to synthetic grass playing fields coming to Francis Howell Central and Francis Howell North, it appears to be a matter of when not if it will happen. 

During Thursday's meeting of the Francis Howell Board of Education, t, became a topic of conversation. Despite technically not being on the agenda, the issue of turf fields was debated. The consensus from the board was simple: the fields are coming, but not next year. 

The actual agenda item, the one that prompted the interjection of turf, dealt with the HVAC renovation projects at Barnwell Middle School and Fairmount Elementary School. The board approved a proposal to replace the heating and air-conditioning units at the two schools for a combined cost of $5,135,500. Sheet Metal Contractors, Inc., will provide the labor and materials to renovate the Barnwell Middle School HVAC system for an amount not to exceed $2,500,000, while Albert Arno, Inc. will provide the labor and materials to renovate the HVAC system at Fairmount Elementary School for an amount not to exceed $2,635,000.

The money for the two projects will come from leftover funds from a bond passed by voters in November 2008. At the polls, voters approved a $78.5 million bond to improve facilities around the District. Howell has used all but $11.1 million of the bond. 

During the discussion about the  in February the board requested a list of facilites' projects in the District that could be paid for by the bond money. The list, provided by the administration, ranked 12 projects in order of importance. 

With the Athletic Complex approved in February and the HVAC systems unanimously approved on Thursday, the District has accounted for the top three items on the priority list and has $3,564,500 million left in bond money. All three projects are slated to begin this summer.

Coming in at No. 6 on the list is the turf project for Howell North and Howell Central. The administration estimated the two fields will cost a combined $1.4 million based on the cost of the turf field at Howell. Board member Mike Hoehn made a motion to re-prioritize the list and move the fields up to slot No. 4, putting them next in line for funding. His goal, he said, was to capitalize on the current favorable economic climate and get a good deal for the District. 

"If we want until the following year, it's going to cost us more to complete this project," Hoehn said. 

The current list has Barnwell Middle and Hollenbeck Middle science labs at No. 4 with an estimated cost of $500,000. At No. 5 is restroom renovations at Barnwell Middle, Castlio Elementary, Fairmount Elementary and Becky David Elementary for a cost of $1.65 million. Completing those two projects, and the field project, at the estimated costs would leave the bond money balance at $14,500. 

Mark Lafata said changing the order would be making decisions from the dais against the advice of the administration. He said with only $14,500 projected to be left after all six projects are completed, the district is operating in a tight space. 

"If we stumble on anything, this number will continue to go down," Lafata said. "We don't have a margin of error."

Lafata said that if the board changed the order of the projects and something went wrong, they may not have the money to finish all six projects.

Hoehn countered that that the even with unforeseen expenses, the district could always use the reserve funds to pay for difference.

"We have $40 million sitting in reserves that's not helping kids," he said.

Only Mike Sommer supported Hoehn's proposal. The other board members voted against the proposal. Following the vote, Sommer called the decision a grave error. He said that new board president Marty Hoditis and new member Eric Seider ran on a campaign that supported the turf fields. By turning them down, he said, the board was sending the opposite message.

Seider countered that the board didn't deny turf fields, they simply decided to not speed up the project.

"I don't believe that the turf fields were on the agenda for discussion tonight," he said. "... I don't wanna manage from the dais."