School shed will save money, directors say

By Anya Tikka
DINGMAN TOWNSHIP — A new $175,000 shed will be built at Delaware Valley to help the school district function more smoothly.
The maintenance shed for the Milford campus has come up earlier. But after extensive discussions over costs, the project got pushed into the background.
At the school board’s December meeting, Marvin Eversdyke, the maintenance director, and Chris Lordi, the administrative services director, persuaded the board of its importance, both financially and for the environment.
The amount was approved as part of the expenditure plan for whole-campus construction continuing in the summer.
The new plans bring under one roof all the components required to run the maintenance program. It will be built to up-to-date environmental standards. It will be used by support service staff, maintenance, ground, and bus drivers, and will be located next to the bus garage.
Eversdyke said their presentation was an update on the maintenance shed project.
“We’ve outlived our building," he said.
He warned about timing the project right. It’s a huge project, taking 6 to 12 months, he said, and should be planned to cause the least disturbance to students during school year.
“We’ve been putting it off for a few years," Lordi said. "We presented a number that was inaccurate, and want to give you a true estimate, a new storage, office, outbuilding in the garage area.”
He said this time there won’t be conservation district problems because the area of disturbance is less than one acre.
Currently, maintenance uses two buildings, some of it in “very bad physical condition." Some data has to be stored inside the high school, making retrieval time longer and more cumbersome. Deliveries of supplies take a lot of time and hours.
Lordi said the new shed will include office and storage space and vehicle parking.
“This will allow for inside storage of equipment, more vehicles and supplies, reducing wear and tear," he said.
The shed will also be cleaner and larger, healthier both for the staff and safer for all. Trucks won’t have to cross walkways as frequently, he said.
Cost savings come with the ability to buy at bid prices and not at market rate. Other savings will come with having an energy-efficient building, better inventory tracking, less employee work time now used in deliveries and pickups, extended equipment life, and savings for vehicle use and gas because of reduced driving to other district sites.
The project will be put to bid for plumbing and other components.
Architectural planning is by BDA Architects of Bethlehem, Pa.