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Board approves property purchase, selects architect for Garfield work

WELLSVILLE — The Wellsville Local School District made some moves Monday with the acquisition of property near Daw Middle School and the selection of an architect to handle the roof and heating and cooling elements at Garfield Elementary.

One approval made by the Board of Education was a resolution to purchase property at 945 Center St., located next to Daw Middle School. The property purchased is 0.072 acres and was owned by Coulter Communications Inc.

According to Superintendent Richard Bereschik, the newly-purchased property will serve as an extension to the playground for students at Daw Middle. The school’s playground mainly now consists of a tennis court.

“We plan to tear it down, expand the playground and put one in,” Bereschik said, adding that plans for construction on the new playground are yet to be determined.

Meanwhile, the board also approved the selection of Buehrer Group Architecture and Engineering to provide design services for the upcoming projects at Garfield Elementary on Lincoln Avenue. Cost of the services will be around $82,000.

Selected at the recommendation of Bereschik, Buehrer Group will be responsible for the architecture and design of the replacement roof and installation of the HVAC unit at the school for heating, cooling and air conditioning, estimated at $1.1 million.

An agreement was prepared and provided to the Buehrer Group for review based upon information provided by the firm for the project. Qualifications received from all firms, meanwhile, will be placed in the district’s qualifications file regarding projects requiring services of an architect, engineer, surveyor or landscape architects which compensation does not exceed $50,000. Those qualifications must be current and not older than a year.

The roof and central air project for the school has been talked about in several discussions throughout the past several months, with board members and maintenance supervisor Joe Traina commenting on the age of the roof and the need for a new one.

In a previous meeting, Traina said the roof at the school — which is flat and made of rubber — managed to make it through a 45-year lifespan, but because of leaks and constant work throughout the years, maintenance crew members had exhausted all efforts to continue preserving it.

Traina also suggested previously the school go with a sloped metal roof, and stated that crews have had better success with the metal roofs rather than with rubber surfaces.

Both resolutions were approved with a 4-0 vote, with board president Ed Bauer absent due to illness.

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