Malverne Makes Progress on School Bond Projects

The Malverne school district has been making progress on the $14.1 million capital improvement project that residents approved through a bond referendum last fall.

The artificial turf field currently being installed at Malverne High School will be finished in just over a week, ready for the Mules football team to play its Oct. 1 game there.

Other aspects of bond Proposition #2, including asbestos abatement and renovations to the locker rooms in the high school and Herber Middle School, were completed over the summer by Sigma Builders Group, under the supervision of Elite Construction of New York.

“Proposition 2 is now ahead of schedule,” Michael Reed, CEO of Elite, said during a presentation at the Sept. 13 board meeting. He also explained that Sigma went beyond the scope of their contract to achieve a better end result “with no additional cost and no additional time added to the community.”

Sigma absorbed the costs, Spiro Colaitis, assistant superintendent for district operations, explained, saying the district is fortunate to have retained the contractor to perform the work required at its two elementary schools.

Colaitis expects the bleachers at the high school to be done by mid-November, and the rest of the work, including the renovations to the tennis and basketball courts, and practice fields, to be completed well before the district’s Fall 2012 deadline.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the board also approved the contractors for the projects contained in Proposition #1, which focuses on improving the two elementary school buildings – Davison Avenue Intermediate School and Maurice W. Downing Primary School.

They accepted bids from Sigma to perform construction at both schools, JNS Heating Services and Xtraire Inc. for mechanical work, Hirsch and Co., LLC, for plumbing and Ambrosio and Co, Inc., for plumbing and Relle Electric Corp. for electrical work at both sites. They also hired Savin Engineering, to serve as the construction management firm, acknowledging that two representatives for the company live within the Malverne school district in Lakeview.

“It took the state six months to approve Proposition #1, but no matter, we still are going to meet our [August 2012] goal,” Colaitis said. “We will be done by next year at this time.” 

He also reminded those in attendance that the district will be getting 40 percent  of the $14.1 million residents are putting up for the bond, or $5.6 million, back from the state.