The dire need for roof repairs

Schools in the Clinton system are facing roofing needs that administrators say are growing dire and more costly with total repair costs currently estimated to be over $11 million.

That was the message delivered last week to the Clinton City Board of Education by John Lowe, executive director of technology and auxiliary services for Clinton City Schools.

Roofing issues have been ongoing in both the city and county school systems for a while now, and Lowe said for four of the five schools in Clinton City, the estimated cost for all their roofing repair needs was approximately $11,299,600.

“Going back to the (state) Needs Based Capital Fund, that window opened Aug. 1 with the deadline of submission for Sept 13,” Lowe said. “We met that deadline and I completed 14 different applications which Dr. (Linda) Brunson had the pleasure of signing in conjunction with our county commissioners. In those applications is over $6 million in support for roofing needs, and I included approximately 2.5 million for HVAC needs.

“There’s no guarantee we’ll get any funding, but in 2021-22 I got almost $900,000 so we can hope for some support from the state in that area,” he continued.“That ties in with our updated roofing budget estimates with the way prices are changing.”

The $11 million estimate factors in every school with needs, excluding the newer Clinton High. Among those numbers were cases, Lowe said, that he deemed high priority because of their current condition.

“These estimates are something I had to have as supporting documentation for the grant,” Lowe explained. “With that you can see some of the updated numbers along with, to me, high priority places right this moment. Those would be the 300 building at LC Kerr which has had multiple leaks across four of the six classrooms. Next equally high priorities are at Sampson Middle, both the academic wing and gymnasium, and then there’s the Sunset Avenue wall.

“That wall, I mean, I lose sleep over it because we have that brick facade that is separating,” Lowe attested. “At some point, if it’s not addressed, we’re going to have brick facade fall off above the 800 wing office, off that top portion and onto that lower portion. We’re going to have to address that.”

The wall project, alone, Lowe said, is estimated to cost approximately $280,000, money, he noted, that was in his capital outlay plan to address. While plans are there to handle the repair, Lowe said more help was needed.

“It’s in my capital outlay plan for this school year to get that bid out and address that wall, but we’re going to need some support from Needs Base Public School Capital Funds or an influx of some (money) from the county commissioners fund balance to help us with that because it’s going to be an expensive project,” Lowe stressed.

The director also offered the details of how contractors plan to fix the wall should, or when, the funds for the project are ready.

“The recommendation is to take the brick facade off, replace the windows, put up vertical metal roof panels, because we’re getting water through that current brick facade,” he said. “We’ve tried all sorts of attempts to patch it; we’ve changed the flashing at the bottom, we coated that brick wall with a water repellent to try to stem that issues, but now, we’ve getting to the point where we’re out of Band Aids.”

The Sunset wall isn’t the only place Lowe said was at its patch limit.

“We’re running out of Band Aids for the 300 Hall at LC Kerr as well,” he said. “As you know, we keep going up there and putting more roofing on the shingles, and it looks like a patchwork now, but then new leaks still appear somewhere else. That’s why I’m sharing these estimates to show where we stand on our roofing needs; this really helped me create our applications for the Needs Based Public Schools Capital Funds Grant.”

As for the scope of all the roofing needs, Lowe’s presented estimates detailing the 2024 estimated construction cost and 2024 consulting fee which equated to the project’s total cost.

• Butler Avenue — (300 Building) construction $243,000, consulting $19,000; total $262,000

• LC Kerr — (Gym Wall) construction $27,000, consulting $4,000; todal $31,000; (300 Building) $148,500, $12,000; total $160,500; (building 01.15-Kimbrough Road end of 200 Hall) $196,500, $16,000; total $212,500.

• Sunset Avenue — (Elevation Wall) construction $259,000, consulting $21,000; total $280,000; (Triangle Shaped Building on Kerr Street side) $636,000, $51,000; total $687,000; (Auditorium) $315,000, $25,000; total $340,000; (700 Hall on Finch Street) $423,000, $33,800; total $456,800; (Combined Auditorium and Finch Street Hall-not calculated in total) $738,000, $58,800; total $796,800.

• Sampson Middle — (All of Sampson Middle-not calculated in total) construction $3,720,000, consulting $335,000; total $4,055,000; (Academic Wing) construction $2,025,000, consulting $162,000; total $2,187,000; (Gymnasium Wing) $1,695,000, $136,000; total $1,831,000.

Those numbers bring the total estimated construction cost to $10,426,000, with consulting fees reaching $873,600 which tallies up to the overall cost of $11,299,600. While a steep hill to tackle, Lowe noted plans are in motion to address the worst of the issues, but again, he stressed, help from other sources is still greatly needed.

“There’s some good news on LC Kerr, as I referenced, like with our 2021-22 Needs Based Funds, I’ve just submitted, this summer, our current final reports, and my numbers match theirs exactly. The quotes came in just a little bit under what we proposed, which rounded off to about $57,000.”

While those funds are meant to only cover projects listed in their applications, such as new construction, Lowe said the opportunity to shift that grant money towards the roof repair at LC Kerr was an option.

“They (NC DPI) immediately said, well, we don’t like to revert these funds, and I replied back, I wouldn’t want to revert it either, but your information says it has to be used only for the scope that was proposed in the grant application,” he said. “They said, true, but let me check with my boss Dennis Hilton. Afterwards, Dennis comes back to me and says, are there other roofing projects at the sites that were included in this?

Lowe continued, “I said, yes sir, there are; we have a pressing need at LC Kerr Elementary, it’s way more than what we have left as a balance but would this be eligible?” Ultimately, what came about is, and I have in writing from the Office of School Planning, that we can use that $57,000 we were awarded towards the LC Kerr project.

“That helps us out tremendously, and I’d already budgeted a certain amount for that product,” he added. “I’m hoping that project comes and gets bid at an appropriate number, so I can shift the rest of what I had budgeted towards the wall at Sunset, and those two can get solved in this capital outlay. That’s my intent and then we’ll tackle the others as we can, with help, hopefully, from the county commissioners.”