| Special Meeting/Workshop - No Division Assigned |
|
Title: Recommendation: I recommended the School Board approve the demolition of Buildings #11, #12, #13, and #14 at Palm Beach Gardens Elementary School, in accordance with the applicable Charter School District Waiver. Description: Palm Beach Gardens Elementary School – Modernization Project #0111-7505 1. The charter analysis (Exhibit "A") submitted by the BRPH Companies on April 8, 2005, allows the School District to retain Buildings #11, #12, #13, and #14 of Palm Beach Gardens Elementary. The remodeling and/or upgrading of the aforementioned buildings to meet current District educational requirement is not considered cost effective. 2. The School District received approval of its Charter School District status on January 21, 2003, at which time the Florida Board of Education approved the District's request to allow the School District to determine when to replace a building as opposed to relying solely upon the Castaldi analysis (Exhibit "B"). 3. The approval to demolish Buildings #11, #12, #13, and #14 and replace with the new buildings will allow for the construction of a new compact replacement school. 4. The Palm Beach Gardens Elementary School site is approximately eleven acres. The new plan, which conforms to the District's goal of providing safe enclosed, single-building environments, would be compromised should the existing Buildings #11, #12, #13, and #14 have to remain, as shown on the attached plans (Waiver #4 Criteria 3.b. 1 & 2). 5. The enclosed courtyard/building design is predicated on the removal of all existing buildings, and provides a more efficient use of the site and a better ability to provide a secure campus (Waiver #4 Criteria 3.b.2 and 3.b.4). 6. Due to their location, the preservation of these four existing buildings would also hamper the construction process on the site. The design and anticipated construction schedule is based on the ability to build on a cleared site and having to construct around these would have serious implications on the staging, construction process, the project schedule, and budget (Waiver #4 Criteria 3.b.1). Additionally, should the existing Buildings remain, there would be different buildings instead of a unified system supporting the campus as a whole; this could also present maintenance challenges. During construction, should the existing buildings suffer a disruption of utilities, this could present an opportunity for mold and mildew to grow within. 7. The existing buildings are considerably aged. Buildings #11 and #12 were built in 1962, and Buildings #13 and #14 were built in 1990. Given the condition of Buildings #11, #12, #13, and #14, the cost to maintain these existing building and to provide ongoing repairs for the next several years shall pose a fiscal burden to the District until the time that one could reasonably anticipate requiring replacement. Additionally, in providing a completely new facility for Palm Beach Gardens Elementary, the District can be assured of code compliance of the most current, more stringent, Florida Building Code requirement for the entire facility. 8. We are scheduling to move the students off campus, during construction, to D.D. Eisenhower Elementary. Financial Impact: The financial impact to the Project's Budget is $0.00. For Additional Information, contact: Attachments (list):
|