SB Minutes April 14 2010 (2)

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April 19, 2010 Page 1Special Session

April 19, 2010

The Montgomery County School Board met on the above date at theChristiansburg High School library at 6:00 p.m. for the purpose of ajoint meeting with the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.

School Board Members PresentB. Wendell Jones, Chair Drema B. FosterPhyllis T. Albritton Penny J. FranklinJamie M. Bond Joseph T. Ivers, Jr.

Staff Members PresentBrenda Blackburn, SuperintendentDaniel A. Berenato Walter L. ShannonLisa R. Radford

Board of Supervisors Members PresentMary W. Biggs John A. MuffoWilliam H. Brown Annette S. PerkinsGary Creed Jim PolitisDouglas W. Marrs

County Staff Members PresentCraig Meadows, County AdministratorL. Carol Edmonds Vickie SwinneyMarty McMahon

Call to OrderMr. Jones called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. with the pledge ofallegiance to the flag.

Adoption of AgendaOn motion by Mrs. Bond, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, the Board voted unanimously to adopt the agenda as presented.

The group had dinner.

Work SessionMrs. Albritton moved, seconded by Mrs. Bond, and the Board voted unanimously to enter a work session at 7:04 p.m.

Energy Projects : MCPS Assistant Superintendent Walter Shannonshared that several schools within Montgomery County are highenergy consumers. Therefore, he noted that the school system haslooked at Energy Performance Contracting as a cost saving measure.

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Mr. Shannon shared the following information related to thisprocurement method:

o allows facility improvements to be funded by current energyinefficiencies;

o guarantees cost avoidance savings for entire term ofcontract;

o provides quarterly reporting that gives detaileddocumentation of energy reductions; and

o offers the option of no up-front contribution by owner.

Dan Berenato, MCPS Director of Facilities, cited some of thebenefits as a result of using Energy Performance Contracting,which are shown below:

o facility upgrades are achieved through self-funding projects;o new, energy efficient technologies are installed;o energy consumption is reduced and there is less exposure to

utility price increases;o deferred maintenance backlogs are reduced;o quantifiable reductions are seen in annual maintenance

costs/down time; ando there is improved comfort and building control capabilities.

Mr. Shannon relayed that PEPCO is the firm that MCPS has partneredwith for this project for an estimated total of $4.7 million. Healso shared that an opportunity has arisen for the school systemto use 0% interest bonds that are available to Montgomery County(Qualified School Construction Bonds for School Energy EfficiencyImprovement Projects, from Virginia/ARRA) for a possible 15-yearterm. However, he pointed out that the timing is critical if MCPSwants to take advantage of this opportunity.

Craig Meadows, Montgomery County Administrator, acknowledged thatthe amount borrowed would go against the debt ceiling limit forthe county. Carol Edmonds pointed out the possibility that theinterest rate could actually be 1-2% at first but acknowledged thefact that most likely it will be 0%. Mr. Meadows shared his beliefthat there would be no significant risk involved in view of theopportunity presented by the 0% interest bonds. Therefore, hesaid he would be asking the Board of Supervisors to consider apublic hearing at tomorrow nights meeting in reference to theissue of Qualified School Construction Bonds for School EnergyEfficiency Improvement Projects, from Virginia/ARRA (0% interestbonds) for a possible 15 year term ($4.75 million to $7.47million).

Budget Update: Mr. Meadows stated that the County did receive

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limited additional information related to the budget in referenceto t he Governors recommendations. He also noted that the Countybudget does recommend a 4% increase in the real estate tax. Mr.Meadows shared that there will be a special meeting of the Boardof Supervisors tomorrow night to consider adoption of the tax ratealong with the County budget for FY 2010-2011. Annette Perkins,Chair of the Board of Supervisors, stated that she would shareinformation from tomorrow nights meeting with the School Boarddirectly following that meeting. Mr. Shannon noted that the budgetgoing before the School Board tomorrow night will still includethe reduction from February ($702,000 15 positions). Therefore,he pointed out that any actions taken at the Board of Supervisorsmeeting tomorrow night could have a direct impact on the SchoolBoards budget.

Facilities Update: Mr. Shannon shared information about thefollowing vacant school facilities within the county but notedthat the School Board has not made any decision yet aboutdeclaring these properties as surplus:

Elliston-Lafayette Elementary SchoolShawsville Elementary School

Prices Fork Elementary School Former Blacksburg Middle School

Mr. Shannon noted that $330,000 has been included in the budget todemolish the ELES facilities.

Supervisor Gary Creed mentioned the Shawsville Middle SchoolAnnex. He said approximately six months ago he shared a requestto use one end of the building for a food pantry both via theChair of the Board of Supervisors and at a joint meeting. Mr.Creed pointed to the significant need for a food pantry withinthat community. Even though limited work may need to be done tosalvage that part of the building, Mr. Creed asked the SchoolBoard to revisit this issue (since the initial request was notsupported). Mr. Shannon acknowledged that the school system has

been supporting the efforts of the food pantry within theShawsville/Elliston community. However, he said this particularfacility is deteriorating and the end result is that some amountof capital will now have to be invested in order to salvage anypart of the building. School Board Chair Wendell Jones agreed tobring this issue up at tomorrow night s School Board meeting underNew Business to continue this discussion.

Mrs. Perkins shared that the Board of Supervisors is currently

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working with the Town of Blacksburg in relation to the OldBlacksburg Middle School site. She noted that they are beginningto have substantive discussions and stated her hope that therewill be a resolution to this matter soon so that monies will beable to flow back to the schools to help with debt service orcapital projects.

Mr. Shannon provided a brief update related to the Blacksburg HighSchool gymnasium. He shared pictures from the site and noted thata new subcontractor, Canada Contracting Company, is now on site.Mr. Shannon relayed that work has begun on the shoring of thewalls and the basement of the gymnasium structure. He noted thatitems remaining in the basement are being removed and inspected.For insurance purposes, Mr. Shannon talked about efforts to comeup with an estimate of what it would cost to replace BHS. Hestressed that demolition is the primary objective because nothingis definitive yet in terms of the collapse and more can bedetermined when the roof comes off of the building. Mr. Shannonshared that the BHS students will complete the school year at BMS.

Mr. Creed mentioned that the Shawsville Ruritan Club would like tosponsor an essay writing contest for elementary through highschool students regarding what the 4 th of July means to them andasked about the process for sponsoring such an event. Ms.Blackburn asked him to contact her directly so that she may helphim with this matter.

Mr. Berenato suggested that the Boards begin to think about themarketing of the SES and ELES properties and noted that themarketing strategy used for the Bethel property seemed to workvery well.

Return to Regular SessionMrs. Franklin moved, seconded by Mrs. Albritton, and the Board voted unanimously to return to regular session at 8:21 p.m.

Agenda Preparation

May 4, 2010 Public Hearing on BudgetTeacher Appreciation Week Resolution

May 18, 2010 Recognition of Reading Recovery TeachersElliston Eagles EntertainmentRecognition of Carmelita Williams, GraduateScholarship Recipient

June 15, 2010 Title Applications (Approval)

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July 9-10, 2010 School Board Retreat

AdjournmentThe meeting was adjourned at 8:21 p.m. on motion by Mrs. Franklin,seconded by Mrs. Bond, and passed unanimously.

School Board Chair Clerk of the School Board

SB Minutes April 14 2010 (2)

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Transcript of SB Minutes April 14 2010 (2)