AGAWAM — The town of Agawam wants to replace the roofs of its four elementary schools over the next few years, but first, they are asking the Massachusetts School Building Authority for funding.
During its meeting on March 17, the Agawam City Council unanimously approved the submission of a statement of interest to the MSBA’s accelerated repair program for new roofs at James Clark Elementary School, Clifford Granger Elementary School, Benjamin Phelps Elementary School and William Sapelli School.
The deadline to submit a statement of interest for the accelerated repair program was March 21.
According to Agawam Mayor Christopher Johnson, the roofs at the four elementary schools date back to 1997, when the town completed expansions and renovations on the buildings. Johnson said the roofs are now causing some problems for the schools.
“We’re starting to experience difficulties with them, especially the flat roof sections,” Johnson said during the Feb. 25 School Committee meeting. “We’re hoping to get at least one, if not more of [the roofs], into the MSBA program.”
According to the MSBA website, districts across the state submit SOIs when they seek funding for a school building project. Specifically, the MSBA’s accelerated repair program is designed to preserve existing assets by performing energy-efficient and cost-saving upgrades, resulting in direct operational savings for school districts.
Once an SOI is submitted and reviewed, the state will work with the district to validate the deficiencies identified in the SOI, and if appropriate, collaborate on different solutions.
The cost to replace each roof is between $800,000 at the smaller schools and as much as $1.2 million for the larger schools. The smaller roofs are at Clark and Sapelli, with Phelps and Granger having larger roofs as well as gable roofs with shingles.
Johnson said membrane roofs, even ones of high quality that were installed at the elementary schools, have about a 20- to 25-year lifespan while shingle roofs have a 30- to 35-year lifespan. He added that after the roofs were installed, several of the town’s building maintenance staff attended training on making repairs. It was provided by the company that manufactured and installed the roofs.
The council passed the measure with little discussion. Only Councilor Gerald Smith offered comments, saying that he hopes the roofs are replaced in an efficient manner to avoid any safety issues.
“I hope we learn from our mistakes that we made at the [Agawam Public] Library, and that all the roofs of the town buildings will be replaced in a timely manner,” Smith said.
