Shelter Island School. (Image credit: Ambrose Clancy)
The Shelter Island School’s new septic projects will not take place this summer as originally planned.
The COVID-19 pandemic, planning and construction work and the permits required for the new system have resulted in the completion date being postponed to September 2022.
Superintendent Brian Doelger, Ed.D., confirmed the change, saying that delays in approval also delayed the project.
School district officials have reserved money for the projects that were originally in the unallocated fund balance. Following an audit last year, funds were transferred to several specific funds, as directed by the state auditor.
Current designs are based on the Fuji-Clean CN sewage management system.
Senior Associate John Longo from Patchogues BBS Architects, Landscape Architects & Engineers, was – at least virtually – at the Board of Education meeting on the 14th next year.
In addition to the need to install a modernized septic tank in a building that is so heavily used by the community, some interior work is planned that will allow the district to receive state construction subsidies.
An internal project involves the exchange of doors to the lobby. There are currently metal and glass doors creating a vestibule outside the lobby, while a second interior project is replacing existing wooden doors from the gym to rooms that provide office space, lockers, showers, and bathrooms.
While examining the sewage treatment plants, Mr. Longo said he knew of three old sewage treatment plants that had been installed to service different parts of the building. However, remains of a fourth septic tank were found and water tested, which revealed that there is no flow to this system.
In the kitchen area, the team found an inceptor in the grease trap that needs to be upgraded to meet the code.
There will be some delays in the future as work in several areas requires the service to be shut down from time to time. The installation will be gradual to avoid as much delays as possible, Longo said.
The BBS team checks plumbing, gas and electrical systems as well as generators – both existing and possible additions.
Probably the slowest processes due to residue are approvals from the New York State Education Department and Suffolk County Department of Health Services. Once applications are submitted, it is expected to take three to four months to get approval from the Department of Education and four to five months before the Department of Health issues a permit.
The design and engineering plans should be completed by the end of July, so that the permit applications can be submitted in August.
The tender preparations for parts of the projects would be prepared between September and December, the selection of the successful tenderers should take place in February.
But some construction work will begin from March to May 2022, and the plumbing and electrical work is set to begin this coming June. The replacement of the sanitary facilities as well as new doors to the lobby and interior doors in the gym are expected to take place in July and August 2022. The new system should be ready by the time the school reopens the following month.
For other measures, the board has:
• Approved Native American History curriculum curriculum presented by social studies teacher Sean Brennan.
• Celebrated the retirement of Laura Leever, who will retire at the end of the school year after 18 years as a Spanish teacher.
• Welcomed the appointment of Laura Mayo, who worked as a staff member but is now taking on the position of Spanish teacher.
• Greeted Kristin Andrejack as a PE teacher.
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