Jan. 3—COVENTRY — On Jan. 10, Coventry residents will vote on appropriating more than $ 11 million for HVAC replacements, improvements and repairs at Coventry High School (CHS).
Voting will take place at the Coventry Fire Stations from 6 a. m. to 8 p. m. Voters in District 1 will vote at the fire station at 1755 Main Street, while voters in District 2 will cast their ballots at 3427 Main Street.
Absentee ballots will be available at the Office of the Town Clerk during business hours.
Almost a decade of events have led up to this referendum.
The School Building Energy Efficiency Committee ( SBEEC) was created by the Coventry Town Council in May 2014.
The SBEEC compiled their first list of projects, the largest of which was a unit ventilator replacement and exhaust/ fresh air updates at the CHS/ Capt. Nathan Hale School complex.
Then in April 2019, Coventry residents approved $ 3.11 million in bond funds for the projects, which included the unit ventilator replacement and exhaust/ fresh air updates.
In Jan. 2021, the town went out to bid for design services relating to the unit ventilator work.
The engineer’s lowest cost to replace the unit ventilators was $ 2.9 million.
In Sept. 2022, Gov. Ned Lamont announced $ 150 million in a newly established state grant program dedicated to supporting school HVAC upgrades.
Upon notification of the new HVAC grants, the SBEEC began compiling several HVAC projects that were on the town’s longterm capital list in order to maximize their potential grant reimbursement.
The projects included replacement of the unit ventilator, adding a dedicated outdoor air system and air cooled chiller as well as replacing the cooling equipment for the auditorium, stage, band room and media center. The total project cost for all of these projects is now estimated to be $11,070,000, the figure Coventry residents are voting on on Jan. 10.
Of the $ 11,070,000, $447,798 was identified as ineligible and/or bond issuance fees.
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State reimbursement for the project is expected to be $ 6,297,710, leaving Coventry’s portion of the funding at $4,771,964.
There is $ 1.4 million remaining from the energy bond that was approved by Coventry residents in 2019. There is also $1.3 million remaining from a roof replacement bond, which residents can repurpose towards this HVAC project.
The town could then issue bonds to cover the remaining $ 2.1 million needed to complete the HVAC project.
The town council has committed that in the event the town does not receive the HVAC grant, they will not move forward with bonding $ 11.07 million.
If the town does not move forward, they will not have enough funding to replace the unit ventilators.
If the town wants to repurpose the remaining roof bond funds, another referendum will need to be held. The town will also miss out on potentially receiving more than $ 6 million in state grant funding.
In addition, if the town does not move forward with bonding $11.07 million, the rooftop units on the high school will need to be replaced within the next three years maximum, however it could be sooner based on their condition.
Also, if the town does not move forward with the bonding, CHS will not receive the dedicated outdoor air systems or air chilling systems.
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