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Date: 8/23/2022
NORTHAMPTON – During a morning meeting on Aug. 16, the Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School Board of Trustees Property Subcommittee once again weighed their options for their horticulture building that experienced damage after a May fire caused by a lawnmower.
Reminder Publishing recently reported that the school announced that Dietz & Co. Architects was hired to design a new building for the forestry education program with a proposal possibly coming in the fall. Dietz & Co. President Kevin Riordon is working with the trustees and educators to develop a final site plan and program that fits a new state-of-the-art facility. Financial and logistical questions, however, still remain.
“Financially, we’re not in a good position,” said Smith Superintendent Andrew Linkenhoker. “That’s the CliffsNotes version.
According to Linkenhoker, the school will most likely receive $940,000 of insurance money for the damaged building, but because of demolition and contract costs, the school will most likely end up with $850,000. At some point, Linkenhoker said the school will also receive insurance money for the damaged equipment. Additionally, many replacements for damaged equipment and tools have been donated, which means that close to $100,000 of the insurance money from the equipment could be used on the building itself.
The school has just received money from the latest Skills Capital Grant under the Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration. According to Linkenhoker, this Skills Capital Grant acts as a dual purpose, where some of it will go toward the improvement of the equipment for students, while 30 percent of it will go toward the horticulture building.
In addition, there is a larger Skills Capital Grant coming out in the fall, which is upwards of $5 million, according to Linkenhoker. Seventy percent of that grant can be applied toward facility upgrades.
During the Aug. 16 meeting, Riordon presented an idea for a new building at a reduced size compared to what they were originally thinking while maintaining the main aspects of the program like the horticulture shop, equipment repair shops, classrooms, general storage and more. “We’re still looking at an overall building of 21,820 square footage,” said Riordon. “When you’re thinking about cost, it’s still pretty sizable.”
While there is no concrete number for how much a new building would cost, Riordon said there are estimates that each square foot could cost between $350 and $400.
The school is also considering the possible option of bonding with the city to help pay for the project. The one issue with this, however, is the school must use a revenue source that does not fall under the city’s operating budget. The idea would be to bond with the city for $10 million across 30 years with 4 percent rate. The school explored using cell tower money for a possible bond, but Linkenhoker found that this avenue would not be sufficient to cover monthly costs. The hope, instead, is to acquire $4 million between the insurance and grants if “all the ducks line in a row.”
If they do acquire $4 million, the school could then explore a much smaller bond with the city, maybe closer to $2 million. “I don’t want Kevin going full speed on a project we can’t afford,” said Linkenhoker. “So, I just want to have these discussions now.”
The demolition of the damaged section of the building could occur during the first couple weeks of school. The potential cost for demolition is $22,500. The undamaged section will be ready for the first week of school.
For next steps, the property subcommittee will work on finding more plausible financial routes, particularly by talking with the city. Additionally, other members will start hashing out a concrete and feasible floor plan for an updated building.
The next meeting is Aug. 30 at 3 p.m.