SAD 4 buildings ‘rank well’ in state Facilities report cites some problems, including McKusick School roof

GUILFORD – The SAD 4 buildings and grounds committee will get its first look next week at a recently released facilities assessment report that identifies building needs in the district.

The facilities assessment, done by James W. Sewall Co. of Old Town, is a requirement of districts that want to seek state revolving loan funds or capital improvement funds.

Although there are many problem areas identified in the report, the schools are in good shape, Michael Young, Sewall’s project manager, said Wednesday.

Of the more than 200 buildings representing 40 Maine school districts the company has assessed, SAD 4 buildings “rank very well,” Young said.

SAD 4 Superintendent Paul Stearns said the committee will review the assessment report, which has improvements listed in five categories, and will meet at some point with Young to further discuss the needs.

“A lot of the pieces didn’t surprise me there,” Stearns said Wednesday of Piscataquis Community High School, one of the older buildings in the district.

Critical needs identified in the report for the high school included improvements to the fresh-air intake system in the shop; the gas-water connections in the science laboratory; the addition of brakes for the removable backstops in the gymnasium; and changes in the janitor’s closet where an electrical panel is within five feet of a utility sink.

Young identified the following critical needs at Piscataquis Community Middle School, one of the district’s newer schools: sumps or alarms must be added to fuel lines; an overfill alarm should be installed at the fuel fill entrance; and the machines in the industrial arts room must be anchored to the floor and have emergency shut-off switches.

Fire alarms are needed in those portable classrooms in the district that do not have them, sprinkler systems should be installed and the ventilation improved, according to Young.

At the Guilford Primary School, the critical needs include rainwater drainage and roof improvements. Young said the roof requires constant snow removal during the winter and he recommended that a structural analysis be performed and additional structural reinforcement installed.

The roof at the McKusick School also was identified as a critical need. Young recommended that the district replace the roof and conduct a structural review.

The areas listed as critical do not mean there are “obvious or immediate hazards.” Rather, the district should address these areas to stop accelerated deterioration and to return the facility to normal operation, according to Young.

Stearns, too, said the term “critical” does not mean it poses a present or immediate safety concern. It simply means that these areas should be addressed first by the district, he said. The report serves as a guideline to future improvements in the district, he said.

Overall, Stearns said the district has done a “nice job” keeping up with the maintenance on its buildings. “And we want to continue that,” he said.