MDI High School Makes Progress on Well Repair, Septic Tank Outflow Line, and Tennis Courts
Planning for reorganization still moving forward
BAR HARBOR—The long-term wastewater issue at MDI High School has met a potential setback, but the refurbishing of the existing system has made headway according to updates by School Superintendent Mike Zboray and Scott Watson, director of maintenance at the high school, during the MDI Regional High School Board of Trustees meeting on August 26.
SENATORS REJECT HOOKING UP TO PUBLIC SEWER FUNDING REQUEST
As part of the funding options for the proposed high school wastewater connection to the Somesville wastewater treatment facility, an estimated $10 million project, the school had submitted applications to both U.S. Senator Angus King’s office and U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ office in an effort to receive funds through congressionally directed spending, which falls under the bailiwick of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.
During the meeting, Zboray said that he recently received word from Senator King’s office that the project was removed from congressionally directed spending consideration. When asked if Senator King’s office had given him a reason why, Zboray said that it was a generic response of how competitive the program is.
Zboray said that he is now reaching out to Senator King’s office to set up a meeting regarding other funding options and mechanisms.
Member Tony Smith asked Zboray if he had contacted Senator Susan Collins’ office and Zboray said that her office never responded to the application. Zboray also said that both Senator King’s and Senator Collins’ offices had received the applications.
Senator Collins is vice-chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.
SEWER LINE BAFFLES PROVE BAFFLING
In the meantime, the school staff has been working on rehabilitating the existing wastewater system for the school. This is a septic tank system that drains into three retention lagoons. During a recent inspection of the system, staff and contractors discovered that the pipe that feeds the lagoons from the septic tank not only has a circuitous route but was broken in places.
A subsequent inspection of the tank itself to determine if the existing tank is still viable revealed that the baffles in the tank were clogged with items that had somehow traveled through the line from the school to the tank but were too large to travel any further. These items consisted of the “normal” items that get flushed down a toilet but shouldn’t and items that according to Watson were baffling as to how they fit through the drain system.
TANK PUMP-OUT ESTIMATE INCREASES BUT COMMUNITY COMES TO THE RESCUE
The school was going to have Clean Harbors pump out the tank and the initial estimate for this, without Clean Harbors viewing the tank, was around $12,000. Once Clean Harbors got a look at the inside of the tank, the estimated price rose to approximately $100,000.
Because the tank baffles have been clogged by unimaginable objects and the baffles and tanks need to be cleaned to function properly, Watson has been cleaning the tank by hand with a salmon net to save money when it is emptied and the remaining wastewater is hauled away. Once Watson has removed as much of the debris as he can, the plan is to have Goodwin’s Construction aerate the water with a large commercial air compressor so that GT Outhouses can use their much smaller trucks to suck out the, hopefully, liquified residue.
The Town of Bar Harbor has agreed to take the wastewater from the tank for processing and this will avoid the exorbitant costs associated with having to haul it to the facility at Juniper Ridge.
The retention pond where the tank empties has been dropping in water level because no one was at the school and the dry weather. Watson thinks that no dewatering will need to occur to get the water low enough to install the new pipe. The pipe will run straight into the pond rather than have curves and sharp turns like the older broken pipe has.
The school is waiting on an estimate from Goodwin’s Construction for the installation of the new pipe and is hoping that once the tank is mostly empty and inspectable, that it doesn’t have any leaks.
REORGANIZATION PLANNING COMMITTEE (RPC) UPDATE
Zboray gave an update on the school system Reorganization Planning Committee (RPC) and started with introducing the new website for AOS 91. On this new website, interested people can find a tab midway down on the page labeled “AOS REORGANIZATION” that is specifically for the history, progress, and current status of the reorganization. Zaboray said that this was done because the RPC and AOS wanted to present forward facing information regarding the RPC to the public.
The RPC is made up of board members from local school board members, community, and municipal members. They meet the second Wednesday of the month and under that tab people can find summaries for each meeting, the progress of the RPC, the history of the RPC and reorganization, and can mail comments or questions to Zboray.
According to Zboray, the RPC has just finished what the proposal will be for the funding mechanism and is in the process of the proposal for possible local school advisory councils which is a model used in other areas of the country.
Member Smith asked when the life expectancy of the trustees under reorganization would be discussed within the RPC. Zaboray said that would probably occur in October.
Many of the members are concerned that the High School Board of Trustees will not survive reorganization and believe that the board is an important asset to the future of the high school via building and grounds maintenance and improvement.
Member Lawson Wulsin believes that the board is useful and important because it has members that are not focused solely on teaching and learning and have expertise in construction and can focus on building maintenance.
The board decided to write a joint letter from the board to the RPC regarding its thoughts and concerns and why there should continue to be some form of trustees oversight under the reorganized school governing structure. The board will have this letter to the RPC prior to the October meeting of the RPC.
TENNIS COURTS PRETTY MUCH DONE
Except for the painting of the courts and some additional drainage work which is supposed to be done this week or next, the tennis court project is complete. The painting of the tennis courts will also include four pickleball courts.
There were two drainage issues that needed to be addressed to help protect the court from water intrusion, which would quickly ruin it via freezing and thawing cycles, that were not included in the original bid.
The first was a strip between the tennis courts and the bleachers that overlook the track and playing field that was not accounted for in the original bids that had to be fixed by hand, and was instrumental in protecting the courts from water intrusion. This strip is five feet wide by 221 feet long and the asphalt ended up being six inches deep because the work had to be done by hand since equipment couldn’t access it after the new courts were complete. This strip created a walkway that allowed for two ADA accessible entrances.
Zboray told the committee that he approved the additional amount of approximately $11,000 for this strip to be completed.
In addition to that, a strip around the remaining perimeter of the new courts is getting paved and graded to direct water runoff away from the courts and into the catch basin in the corner. This will also help keep the dirt, brush, and debris that has historically been clogging the catch basin from getting to the catch basin because it will no longer be gravel, dirt, and grass. This perimeter is five feet wide, and a total of 515 feet in length.
Because this work can be done with machinery, the pavement will only be two inches thick for this perimeter apron. This work was also not part of the original bid and and the exact price is not known yet.
GENERATOR STILL NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY
The high school is still trying to get the generator to function properly and Watson said that he will set up a load test on the generator when there is nobody at the school and they can shut off power to the school from Versant. The reason for this is because every time the school conducts a load test and the power is still on from the grid, the generator does not fail as it has been doing during true power outages.
The load test will occur on a weekend or holiday when there is no need for power at the school and the power supply from the grid can be shut off completely rather than just shutting off the main breaker for the school which is how they have been previously performing load tests.
SCHOOL WELL REPAIR RECEIVES GRANT
In positive financial news, the well that supplies the high school is in need of repair and the school had applied for and received a grant that will fund the full amount of the repair. The estimate for the repair was $10,750 and the grant that the school applied for was limited to $10,000. However, the grantors went ahead and gave the school the full amount of $10,750.
As with the generator load test, the well repair will need to be done on a weekend or holiday when there is no need for water in the school.
According to an email from MDI High School on August 30, the school is “putting in a new well pump this weekend. Please see the attached boil water order for any running water for the high school only.”
The order goes into affect on Saturday, August 31. 2024 until further notice.
The next meeting Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for September 23, 2024.
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