School Board Hires Contractor For Roof Repairs

Safeway Contracting Inc. of New Jersey was hired by the school board on Monday to perform roof repairs at all district schools, including roof replacements at the Cedar Hill, Liberty Corner and Oak Street elementary schools, for a total cost of $1.49 million.

The Board of Education received two bids for the proposal. The other company, D.A. Nolt, bid $3.6 million for the project, according to the meeting agenda.

School business administrator Nick Markarian said at the meeting that next year's school budget has enough money set aside for the roofing job.

Markarian said some degree of roofing repairs is due at each of the district's six school buildings.

However, he said significant portions of the roofs will be replaced at three older elementary schools, the Cedar Hill, Liberty Corner and Oak Street School, where school officials have said the roof is leaking. 

The goal is to do the roof repairs this summer, Markarian said.

The school district also had sought bids on a project that would combine the installation of the roofs with solar panels, with the goal of reducing the roofing cost by allowing vendors to earn income from the solar installation.

However, the school board received no bids at the scheduled bid opening for the so-called power purchase agreement, which took place on May 26, the meeting agenda said.

But Markarian said on Monday the district will probably seek bids from vendors to allow the installation of panels on some school roofs or proposed parking canopies, without requesting roof repairs as part of the same project. Markarian said the first package, as presented, may have been considered too complicated by vendors.

The school district would hope to reduce its energy costs by allowing the solar panel installation, school officials said previously.