NEEDED REPAIRS TO EXISTING BUILDINGS - Kevin Brinkman, Superintendent

I, along with the maintenance and custodial personnel, take great pride in maintaining our current facilities. You will notice this fall when you walk into our schools the sparkling floors and the outstanding overall appearance of our buildings. What you won't notice is the condition of the plumbing, heating, and electrical systems. These systems have lasted for nearly 60 years with minor repairs conducted as needed. Over the course of the last few years we have been noticing increasing deterioration of the plumbing and heating systems. The picture at the bottom of this article is an eight foot length of steam line that was removed from Glandorf Elementary on July 14. As you can see, this steam line was in very bad condition and would have caused major concern if repairs had been needed to be made in the middle of the heating season. The probability of similar steam lines existing in the building is a reality. The complete system will need to be replaced in the near future.

To replace the heating system at Glandorf Elementary School would be very expensive and could not be accomplished without the passage of an additional tax levy. The plumbing systems in both elementary buildings are also in a condition that major repairs will need to be made soon. The elementary buildings still have the old original galvanized pipes. Most households that had galvanized pipes originally installed have already been replaced with copper or plastic piping. If the Ottawa-Glandorf Schools don't build new elementary schools we will need to replace the plumbing system in both buildings. The only way we will be able to afford this replacement is by asking the voters to approve an additional tax levy. These repairs would be a very expensive undertaking and we simply don't have the money to accomplish this without the additional tax. So the question becomes, "Do we pass a levy to replace the current heating, plumbing, and electrical systems with local dollars or do we pass a levy to complete our local share and receive $20,000,000 from the State to build new elementary schools?"

The chart below breaks down the cost to replace the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in both elementary buildings. These figures were taken from an assessment conducted by the Ohio School Facilities Commission in 2001. A 30% increase was added to the figures to reflect the increase in steel, copper, and fuel cost.

The combined total cost for these building upgrades/repairs amounts to $4,421,341. This upgrade/repair cost is very close to the 6 million dollars needed for our local share and does not include the elimination of the inefficient portable classrooms at Ottawa Elementary, the classrooms on the stage and in the basement at Glandorf Elementary, or the installation of security systems, handicapped accessibility, and emergency lighting for our schools.

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