The Montauk School Board was presented with a multitude of renovation options at its meeting Tuesday afternoon. After looking at what could be done to improve the school, the board sent Kevin Walsh of BBS Architects back to the drawing board to fine-tune the plans with a preliminary budget of $37 million.
The district is not committed to the number, but it will help limit the scope of the work for BBS. “It’s a good starting point for us to really hone in and say ‘what can we get for this,’ “ said Diane Hausman, the board’s president.
Not exactly picked out of a hat, the number came from a discussion concerning two potential pathways, one under $20 million and one exceeding $20 million. The pathway exceeding $20 million included some “pie-in-the-sky” items, as Ms. Hausman put it, including: a new gymnasium building with a rooftop greenhouse, as well as renovating the current gym to be a music and art space.
Those items were listed along several others, including some marked as priority from 1 to 5, 1 being the highest priority items, baseline health and safety, with 4 and 5 being on the other side of the scale, more restoration and appearance work.
Mr. Walsh broke down each item by its cost, giving a sense of how much could be saved if something were removed. While many of the more expensive items would benefit the district, the board is also cognizant of the effect a bond would have on the community.
“At $40 million we’re looking at $550 for the median home,” said Nick Finazzo, a board member, referencing notes from a bond presentation at the last meeting; “$35 million would be $475, and this is all working off a 20-year bond.”
“So if we gave you a number, let’s say $37 million,” Ms. Hausman added, “could you just pick off this list or would you be able to go back and give us the biggest bang for our buck.”
With a better idea of the district’s target budget for the project, Mr. Walsh will be able to refine the plan, bring it back to the board, and maybe scale the price back even further. “I will tell you the more refined that global scope is,” he said, “I can start to comb over the infrastructure report and start to look for any double expenditure once we decide what’s being renovated.”
Both Mr. Walsh and Joshua Odom, the district’s superintendent and principal, have described the process as “looking at what can be as well as what needs to be.”
“The idea is you’re making the block and now you’re chipping away to make what you’re making,” Mr. Walsh said.