✕
☰

Board approves $9 million loan

by

Neal Embry

In order to continue construction across Vestavia Hills City Schools — primarily at the two newly-acquired campuses — the Vestavia Hills Board of Education approved a $9 million loan at the Jan. 28 meeting.

The loan is a 10-year, short-term loan, Superintendent Todd Freeman told the board, and helps pay for construction costs primarily at Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge (currently known as Gresham Elementary) and the future home of Pizitz Middle School, which is the former Berry High School campus.

After the loan was approved, the board also approved several change orders, which authorize the spending of additional monies on projects, to be paid for by the loan, including roughly an additional $300,000 for the future Pizitz Middle School to pay for a multitude of items including a baseball field on the campus, as well as proper safeguards against water intrusion and other needs.

Two separate projects at Gresham were also approved, with the first finishing the HVAC repairs for the gymnasium, with the additional cost at just more than $92,000. The board also approved an owner-architect agreement to install a new loop road and parking at VHEDR to address carpool needs. The agreement states a tentative cost of $640,000 for the project.

Assistant Superintendent Patrick Martin gave an update on the transition ahead of the 2019-20 school year, when Pizitz will move from its current location to the former Berry campus, and the current Pizitz facility will become a ninth-grade campus. Vestavia Hills Elementary Central will go offline after the 2018-19 school year and all elementary schools, including the new VHEDR, will be kindergarten through fifth-grade schools.

Along with the construction work at new schools, there are various projects at existing city schools. All projects are currently scheduled to finish ahead of the 2019-20 school year, with the exception of the new gym at the new Pizitz Middle School. Pizitz Principal Meredith Hanson said her staff has prepared contingency plans for both the gym and the new addition for the band and chorus, which is slated to finish Aug. 7, Martin said.

Martin told the board Freeman had met with the Jefferson County Commission and secured the widening of Columbiana Road, as well as the addition of a turn lane by Pizitz and the relocation of a traffic signal on Columbiana. The work on replacing the roof at Pizitz has also begun, Martin said.

Freeman will bring a recommendation to the board regarding which company will help conduct the massive move between schools over the summer at the Feb. 25 board meeting.

At the end of the meeting, the board went into executive session, which is closed to both the media and the public, to discuss the potential purchase of property. No official action was taken after executive session and the meeting was immediately adjourned. No other information is known at this time.

In other business, the board:

Back to topbutton