Monroe-Woodbury to ask voters to support $8.3 million in capital improvements

By Bob Quinn
CENTRAL VALLEY — The Monroe-Woodbury School District is poised to ask taxpayers to support a proposed $8,391,000 capital project that would replace the air conditioning system at the high school, replace grass athletic fields with artificial turf that could accommodate soccer, football and lacrosse and replace the existing six-lane track with one that would feature eight lanes, among other changes.
School officials said the proposed changes to the athletic facilities would:
Allow the district to more fully respond to the increased demand for athletic venues for the community and the school’s own sports program for modified to varsity teams; and
Position the district to host regional and statewide competitions - as Middletown and Kingston school districts do - that could benefit the district and the local economy.
Although school officials are still parsing how to pay for the capital projects, Patrick Cahill, the Assistant Superintendent for Business and Management Services, said there will be no tax impact, he said.
That's because there are a number of factors in play:
Last year, the district created a capital reserve fund. Cahill said there is $3.2 million in reserve.
The New York State Department of Transportation has allocated $1,475,750 to the district in exchange for taking by eminent domain a total of 1.9 acres for its Exit 131 improvements.
The promise of $925,000 from the state Legislature via Assemblyman James Skoufis as part of the creation of the Town of Palm Tree and the transfer of property from the Monroe-Woodbury School District into the new town and the Kiryas Joel School District, which will share the same boundaries as the new town.
So that would leave the district needing to secure about $4 million bond, repaid over 15 years.
And that would require the public approval. That vote is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 23.
If voters give the OK, contract bidding would open in late January, with contracts being awarded by March 22.
School officials estimate that construction on the turf fields would begin May 30 and finish Aug. 30. The window for the heating, air condition and roofing upgrades would run from July 1 through Sept. 2.
Cahill said the district has not undertaken any major capital projects in the last decade or so. Two years ago, the district undertook a facilities assessment to gauge what work would be needed at all of its buildings and properties.
That assessment provided the basis for the recommended improvements at the high school and the athletic fields, Cahill said.
He also said the district will be retiring some of its debt within the next several years.
That, coupled with the money from the state, presents the district with what Cahill described as an "unique opportunity to reinvest one-time DOT and State funding to solve problems."
"This is work we have to do," Cahill said in an interview this week, "sooner rather than later."
According to Cahill's project timeline, the Monroe-Woodbury School Board is expected to approve the environmental impact statement for the project and set the date for the public referendum at its Aug. 29 meeting.