Plans are progressing to partially demolish the flood-damaged remains of the Antietam Middle Senior High School and build a new Stony Creek Elementary Center building.
At a meeting Monday, school officials reviewed an updated building plan for the proposed Stony Creek Elementary School presented by Phil Leinbach, president of AEM Architects, Reading.
Antietam’s kindergarten through third graders are taking classes in temporary modular buildings on the property until the new school is finished.
Leinbach said the new building will be positioned fully outside of the flood plain, making it less susceptible to events like the flood in July 2023 that ravaged the old building.
“Am I going to sit here and tell you (a severe flood) is never going to happen?” Leinbach said. “We would’ve said July 2023 was an unlikelihood. But we are compliant with the local (and state) regulations to stay out of the flood plain.”
He noted the building will sit at a higher elevation than the previous structure, with the location of the new first floor eight feet above where water entered during the flood.
“Should it (a similar flood) happen with this building, the rush of water would continue on around the building and have little impact, if any, to the lower basement mechanical level,” Leinbach said.
The project will also include an updated stormwater management system, including more storm inlets and drains, as well as sump pumps in the basement that are hooked to an emergency generator that can remove water in case of a breach.
Leinbach said the site’s existing administration building will be separated by a wall from the newly constructed 58,000-square-foot school building.
The building will contain four regular classrooms and one special education classroom for each grade, as well as a flex classroom that can accommodate larger class sizes if needed.
Kindergarten and first grade will occupy the first floor, with second and third grade on the second.
It will also have a life skills classroom, music room, several small group instruction rooms, storage and faculty room, library and STEAM classroom.
The cafeteria and gym will be in a multipurpose room with a temporary divider that can be put up during the day and taken down after school to create a full-size gymnasium where sports teams can practice.
A serving area attached to the room will allow food to be prepared onsite, officials said.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $30.3 million, about $11 million of which is currently covered by grants and insurance payments.
Additional grants could help offset more of the cost, but the remaining bill will require borrowing, officials said.
The district taking on more debt would mean annual tax increases ranging from roughly 1 mill to 2 mills, or about 2% to 4%, over several years depending on the amount borrowed, officials said.
Dr. Tim Matlack, superintendent, noted the current plan calls for finishing demolition of the old building before the start of the 2025-26 school year.
“Our planning has had several twists and turns, mostly related to control costs for our taxpayers without sacrificing the necessary space for our kids,” Matlack told the Reading Eagle. “We were forced to bid out abatement/demolition separate from the construction for the new building to try to keep to a 3-year timeline.”
He said the district hopes to soon solidify a timeline for finishing construction on the new building.
Neither the demolition nor construction projects have gone out to bid, Matlack noted.
Source: Berkshire mont
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