just finished. Sorry. To um call this meeting to order. The meeting of the board of school estimates. If we could please uh stand for the flag salute. Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. In accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act, I wish to announce that the New Jersey Open Public Meeting Law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of body at which any business affecting
their interest is discussed or acted upon. Notices announcing the date, time, and place for the special meeting were sent to all concerned individuals, associations, and sent to Union County Local Source in accordance with chapter 231 of public law 1975. For the roll call, Miss Kelly here, Miss Cohen here,
Mr. Smallwood here, Miss Hamley here, Mayor Fagen here. All present, you have a quorum. Great. Um, so we'll begin with the presentation from Mr. Huff and Mr. Jess. Yes. Good afternoon, everybody. Uh today's special meeting is uh was called
because the district has received ROD grants from the New Jersey School Development Authority to help us with some uh projects around the district. Now a ROD grant stands for regular operating district in which the state provides money to any district that is a
non SDA or formerly known as Abbott district which are the 31 poorest districts in the state. So, in 2023, the district applied for uh ROD grants because in 2022, legislation was signed which allocated $350 million to
everybody within the state for the ROD grants for high priority capital projects and school districts. Um, districts that are eligible for the ROD funding are to receive up to 40% of the eligible cost of their projects. Uh, the Summit Board of Ed submitted 10
applications for ROD grants, of which four were approved. The four that were approved were for roofing repairs at the following schools. Brighton Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Lton C. Johnson Summit Middle School, and uh Summit High School. The total cost for these four
roof projects is 12,66,500 of which the state will reimburse the district $5,42,600. The amount that the district is responsible for is $7,563,900. However, before the district can receive the funding from the state for the rod
grants, we a have to prove to them that we have the funding source available, which is the purpose of this meeting and subsequently if it passes today, uh the resolutions for the bond ordinances at the city council. And secondly, we have to expend the money before we can get those funds back. Uh once we do that,
then the state will provide us with those funds. Uh as follows, here's some additional information for the roofs. The portion of the roof that is being replaced at the Brighton Elementary School is 11,500 ft². That portion of the roof is 26 years old. The cost of
that project is estimated to be 750,000 of which the state's 40% reimbursement will be 300,000. For the Jefferson Elementary School, 5,100 ft of roof will be replaced. That portion of the roof is 17 years old and in disrepair. Total cost estimated for that
project is $468,400 of which the state will reimburse us $187,360. At the middle school, the roof 95% of that roof will be replaced are 59,500 ft which is 28 years old and the slate will be replaced also which is
original to the building. Estimated project cost for that school is $6,38,000 of which the state will reimburse as $2,415,200. And lastly, Summit High School, 83,000 square ft of roofing will be replaced, which is 22 years old.
Estimated cost is $5,350,100 of which the state will reimburse as $2,140,000 even. So those numbers together 12,66,500 total overall cost of which 5,42,600 will be the 40% reimbursed to
the district. Uh back in 2023, prior to the applications being submitted, the district architects went and reviewed all the roofs to determine which portions of the roofs needed to be replaced. These are the four that had not been touched up to that point which were in disrepair. Currently the district has two companies which have
come into the district and in the process of doing analysis of all of our roofs and they are doing uh geothermal analysis where they're taking and they're going through every layer of the roof with geothermal cameras to determine every layer of the insulation,
the decking and the roof covering to see what needs to be repaired and what is not. And we have two companies doing that so that we can ensure that what we're doing is correct and that the roof portions that need to be replaced or need to be maintained, which we do every year, are going to be they're
consistent. So we don't have one company saying, "Oh, you need to do this." And another one saying that we need to do that. It's okay to ask a question. Go ahead. I just lost you a little bit there. So, can you just explain that as far as we got we had the architect look at the
roofs, correct? And they said they weren't up to they weren't up to standard. They're they're four, right? The four roofs which we submitted the applications for are the four which are in need of the most repair. They are the ones that are the oldest portions of the roof that are the most damaged that need to be repaired, which is why those four
schools were chosen. But then the next level is the geothermal. Correct. So we're doing the geothermal on all the other portions of the of every portion of every roof in every school, right? We and we do that every couple of years just to make sure that there is no underlying conditions which need to be
replaced. You know, sometimes you may have a leak in the ceiling in the classroom. Is it from the roof or is it from the air conditioning units that are vented and ducted through the roofs? So they're going through to see if it's if it is a roof leak, how is the insulation? How are the joists? How are
the decking? And how is the actual roofing material itself, whether it's shingle, whether it's the rubber in this 12 point, sorry, in this 12 I'm sorry if I should. You're off. You're off now. Just as long as the green lights on, you're fine on your on the mouth. Okay.
Um sorry if it's if you want me to wait to ask questions. No. Okay. Um so for this $12 million roof project, has the geothermal been done for that piece? It was. Yes. It was done back years ago and that's and that's why these four at that time were chosen to be because the roofs
back in um in 2009 I believe uh the the district received rod grants. That's when the last 2009 2010 when it came out the district received money back then of which a portion of our roofs were replaced at that time through some rod
grants as well. The the reason I ask it it's um so the public can sort of understand why I'm asking those questions as we go through the state cross acceptance plan and one of the things I mentioned in the planning board meeting at the last planning board meeting um one of the requirements for the cross acceptance plan is an actual evaluation of all of the facilities
including board of ed. So I'm wondering if we can take that information and also give that information you so we're not duplicating efforts if the state's going to do it or just Yeah. Once once the reports are finished we'll be more than happy to share them. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. Anyway, so
that's the that's So that's the information on the roofs. Mr. Smallwood, please. The uh the two companies that are doing the the the roofs, are we just are we doing that so that we can as a comparison to Yeah,
we're doing it as a comparison so that we can make sure that all the other roofs are where they're supposed to be. And then these two companies also are companies that um could potentially bid on these jobs as well because they are both roofing companies. One is Garland and one is TMCO. Both are reputable.
We've used both before as well. Um both have very competitive pricing and so um there was no cost for us um to do the geotherm as well for these. That was going to be my next question. Um, I was going to just since they're both potentially going to be bidding on this,
would they include that within their original bid? Okay, they will. Yeah, they will. Um, for well, for these four roofs, they will say this is what we found for these portions of the roof for all the other roofs that they're going to be doing. That would not be included. That would just be a separate report because we're not bidding out those
portions at this time. Um, if they don't get the bid, would they send us an invoice for the geothermal? Uh, no. We we've already contracted with them beforehand. So what they're doing now is not contingent upon whether they even submit a bid or not. Okay.
And so that you know once once um we've already let the architect know that we were having the board of school estimate meeting today. So I I gave them the authority to move forward with more planning, right? Because they have to now go and they have to do all their in-depth planning uh and drawings as well. So once they do that, then they're
submitted to the town and everything, then we'll move forward with our bidding. And we're going to not only utilize funds uh not only utilize the bidding process, but we're also going to utilize the state co-ops and local co-ops as well to see can we get a better price from them or are the bid prices better as well. And then
whichever is the lowest responsible is who we'll go with. And if they're going to be doing all of the schools and they come back and identify another school that may be worse off than let's say the um sorry the Jefferson uh which is only 17 years old versus the the high school
or or Brighton, right? Um if they come back to us and say this one is actually really worse is more is worse than Jefferson, are we comm are we committed to these schools here? Yes, that the rod grants were specifically
for these schools. So we I can't say, "Oh, Jefferson, we don't need to do Jefferson now. We have to do Franklin." Okay. Right. And I can't use that money. We can't use that money for that because it has been specifically delineated for Jefferson. Just one um I think for So my mic's a
little loud. Just one uh thing I think would be helpful. Could you just give people just a sense of scheduling? So once this gets approved, what does the work look like over you know x amount of time? And so uh after if if the board of school estimate approves the uh
resolution today, it'll go to the city council. They'll approve it. They have to approve the resolution over two meetings which will take place I think in June and or July. Um once that happens, the architect will hopefully get us the plans for all the roof projects by end of summer, beginning of
fall. then they will we'll bid it out as soon. So, my hope is to bid those projects out in the fall. Once we have the bids, then we will work with the contractors on the scheduling because the last thing we want to do is any work that's going to disrupt all of our schooling, especially at the middle school where that's going to be a major
project. Um, and so what we'll do is we will work to ensure that if some of the work can be done during school because it's in an area that's not going to affect or impact anything, we will try to get that done as soon as we can. Uh but as soon as the scheduling is put forward, we'll let everybody know.
Any other uh from what I understand, this this came out of the 2021 or 22 capital improvement or infrastructure assessment? Correct. The roof project, correct? Okay. Um were the assessments
from that architect included in that in that evaluation? What do you mean by the assessment? So when you when was it 21 or 20? I can't remember. So the AR in our architects went and at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 is when they did all
their assessments of the roof. So it was that point and then they came out and they did that and the project costs that you have before you are inclusive of all their fees and everything as well. So is the 12.6 only hard costs or is it hard cost? It's hard cost and soft costs.
So, I thought that Rod only refunded hard costs. Well, it is, but but the majority of the project costs are hard costs. So, there's a smaller portion of the soft like the architect fee of for an estimate $10,000, right? So, that's 10,000, but the majority of the project
is for the hard cost, the labor, the materials, and so that's what's being reimbured. So, we've accounted for hard costs and soft costs knowing that we're only getting reimbursed on hard cost. Correct. Okay. Any other questions or comments from I might I just want to I
have a question. So um how does this um impact or how is this related to the $37 million bond that you It's totally separate. There are two totally separate projects. The $37 million for bond for investing in our future was for the renovation of the Tatlock fieldhouse was
for the uh new lower field the turf. the addition at the high school, the addition at the middle school, the window replacement, the HVAC at the middle school, the window replacement at the Brighton school, and potentially renovation at the middle school field. So, that's totally separate. This is this bond um is going to be a separate
from that. So, they will be two independent projects, right? But I guess my question really was more around if we were looking at construction at the middle school and the high school as an example. Um why weren't the roofs considered as part of that or were they and this is sort of the kind of subset
they were not considered at that time because we had submitted them for the rod grants. Okay. So the timing was correct but the timing was off and with with the uh investing in our future you know we get debt service aid for that as well. So the state says they're going to
give you 40% of that, but they end up giving you 32% of that because they keep 8% for themselves. For this, it's actually a full 40% under the Rod grant law. Okay. And just for public clarification or understanding, um the
rod grants don't come around very often. So could you speak to the last Right. The last time that the ROD grants uh were offered was 2010 2011. So um this is the next iteration. So 15 years later, they finally pull pony up money for regular districts. The state always
has money for the poorer districts. I used to be in one of those. So I was at that time I was very I was grateful for that. Um but for the regular operating districts, it's far and few between unless you're doing a full-blown bond referendum and you're getting the debt service aid. And then once and and speaking of debt service aid, so once
these funds, the $5 million is provided to the district, that money will be turned over to the city for payment of those bonds. Thank you. Any other questions up here? Uh, I have a couple. Haven't had it too easy. My one question is probably
similar to yours, mayor. Um, the Tatlock Fieldhouse. We're about to do a project there. I know. I know. Uh, so we there's no way to put this rod for that roof. No. Well,
that roof was We've already replaced that roof. That we that roof was replaced because of the totally that was totally done. Okay. So, but we couldn't have we couldn't have used rod grant. No, because that school property, right? And number one, it's on school property and number two, it's because it was after the time period to submit for the
rod grants. Right. Any other questions? I have one final one, I think. Sorry, you can go. I was just gonna say I I mean we all know what happens when we uh neglect roofs. So, um considering the the
fieldhouse. So, um I I'd much rather spend $7.5 million than than $12 million. My my last question is this is my first time doing this ROD grant process. Do we have to get into the minutia of bond anticipation notes versus going out to
bond right away or is that just typically handled by our city? That's t usually typically handled by the city. Okay. Um that's certainly what what I will be recommending is a bond anticipation note. Uh I think it's going to save us $2 to $3 million uh rather than go for bonding. So that's just
something that I think we will talk about at council, but it seems like that would make the most sense. That's your call. Yeah, that was it. Okay. Any other questions? No. Okay. Um, we'll open for public comment. Any comments from the public?
All right. Seeing no comments from the public. It looks like we are moving on to uh So, we need a motion. If we could have a motion to close the public comment, please. Thank you. Second. Second. All right. Any discussion? All those in favor? Any opposed? Any extension? Motion carries. Now, we have
the resolution for the vote on the Rod Grant. if you would like like me to read the resolution. Yes, sir. All right. Whereas on June 30th, 2022, Governor Murphy signed public law 2022 chapter 18, which includes a direct
appropriation of $350 million to the New Jersey Schools Development Authority to provide funding for grant projects in regular operating districts districts. And whereas under the ROD grant program, school districts are eligible to receive at least 40% of approved eligible project costs. and some districts may be
eligible for a higher share. The funding percentage for a grant is based upon each district's aid percentage multiplied by the eligible project cost established by the New Jersey Department of Education and districts must be able to demonstrate local matching funds for the balance of the project costs. And
whereas the Department of Education issued notification that applications for the Fif grant funding allocations were due to be received in the office of school facilities no later than May 1, 2023. And whereas the Department of Education stated that proposed scope of work for all projects submitted must be 100% eligible for state support and be
included in one of the priority levels in order to be considered for approval to obtain grant funding. And whereas the city of Summit Board of Education successfully met the criteria for approval of the ROD grant funding with approval at its April 24th, 2025 regular meeting of the preliminary eligible cost
letters dated October 3rd, 2023 from the New Jersey Department of Education Office of School Facilities pursuant to section 5 of the Educational Facilities Construction Financing Act public law 2000 chapter 72. I'm not going to read the parenthesis. And whereas the city of summit board of education board of
school estimate concurred with the recommendation of the superintendent schools and the business administrator to address these level one health and safety issues at the May 29th 2025 meeting. Now therefore be resolved that the city of summit board of school estimate does hereby approve the authoriz and authorized expenditure of
$12,66,500 for the projects listed below roof replacements and be it further resolve that the city of Summit board of school estimate is hereby fix and determine that it's necessary to sell bonds to raise 12 million $66,500 for total project cost of which
$7,563,900 is the local share of the project and be a further resolve that the city of Summit board of school estimate hereby acknowledges that the said projects have been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as level one priority projects and qualified as school facility projects eligible for state support under the
Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act public law 20 chapter 72 for state share grant funding in the amount of 5,42,600. Thank you. Um, looks like we are ready to have a
vote. May I have a motion to approve this resolution and a second? Second. We need a roll call vote. Is there any discussion? Miss Hamlet, I. Mr. Smallwood, I. Miss Kelly? Yes. Miss Con?
Yes. Mayor Fagen? Yes. Thank you. Motion carries. May Is there any other business that needs to be discussed? Okay. May I have a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second. Thank you. Any discussion? All in favor? I may return to 222. Thank
you.