HODGDON, Maine — Residents in the communities of SAD 70 will be asked Tuesday, May 10, 2016, if they support a $1.3 million bond to perform a number of upgrades to the two schools in the district.
At the polls, voters will also be asked if they support the 2016-17 school budget in the amount of $6,508,990. The polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the communities of Hodgdon, New Limerick, Linneus, Ludlow, Amity and Haynesville. Only a simple majority vote is needed to approve the bond.
A small group of about 20 residents gathered April 26 for a public hearing on the proposed school bond referendum for the district, as well as the budget. According to Superintendent Scott Richardson, a small group of about 20 people attended. Nobody at that meeting spoke in opposition to the bond proposal.
The total loan is in the amount of $1,301, 893 and of that figure, $379,330 will be spent on repairs at Mill Pond Elementary School and $922,563 will go toward upgrades at Hodgdon High School.
Richardson said because the loan is being procured through the state’s Revolving Renovation Fund, 64.25 percent of the loan ($836,467) will be forgiven, meaning the district will only have to payback $465,426. The district plans to do this through a 10-year, zero interest bond that will cost the district about $46,600 per year.
Up until a few years ago, SAD 70 was debt free. Two years ago, the district entered into a five-year loan agreement to perform energy efficiency upgrades to buildings in the district.
In January 2015, SAD 70 received the results of a feasibility study done by Bunker and Savage, an architectural firm from Augusta, for both Mill Pond and Hodgdon High schools. That study listed areas of need for the district’s facilities prioritized on a scale of one to five. The firm also looked at costs of building a new high school and possible improvements to the buildings.
In July, 2015, the state’s Department of Education announced that applications for the School Revolving Renovation Fund program were being accepted. Applications were required to focus on health, safety, and compliance repairs.
“SAD 70 sent in four separate applications,” explained Richardson. “Two were for Mill Pond and two were for the high school, based on the priority criteria established by the DOE in the program.”
Some of the projects to be completed with the bond money are repointing of all brickwork and cement work on the original Hodgdon High School building; and asbestos removal at Mill Pond which includes all the stucco around the outside building above the brickwork.
Other updates involve renovations to make the building more accessible for those with disabilities and include a new elevator at the high school, updating many restrooms in both buildings as well all locker rooms, accessibility to the stage at both buildings. A new fire alarm system for each building is also in the mix.
The district has already agreed to spend up to $15,000 on architect fees so the elevator design phase could begin.
