Costly repairs under review

Ed Mahon

- emahon@centredaily.com

CHESTER HILL, Clearfield County — Repairing the brick exterior of Osceola Mills Elementary School is likely to cost about $150,000 more than school officials and architects anticipated in an initial feasibility study.

And Philipsburg-Osceola Area School District board members face a choice between a short-term fix that would get the building to next summer or a long-term solution that preliminary estimates put at $226,049. Complicating the choice is the fact that district officials are in the midst of an extensive study of all their facilities and could eventually opt to consolidate three elementary school buildings into one.

“That’s just a large chunk of change when you don’t know what we’re doing with all the buildings in the next three to five years,” said board President Robert Selfridge at Monday night’s meeting.

The board members unanimously approved starting the bidding process for repairs, but won’t make a decision on whether to choose the short-or long-term fix until they see different proposals from contractors.

Either way, facilities director Don Blake said he hopes to have a project completed before winter.

Moisture and rain that have seeped through the exterior of Osceola Mills have damaged the interior walls and loosened the exterior bricks, he said. The damage intensifies during freeze/thaw cycles.

In an initial feasibility study, architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates estimated that repairs would cost $75,000. But the Mechanicsburg-based firm raised its calculation after conducting a site inspection and analysis in late June.

“The deterioration was more extensive,” than originally believed, Blake said.

A portion of the existing exterior on the building’s eastern upper side is missing along with a portion of the backup layer. The current caulking system traps the water and moisture inside the exterior, which has caused most of the building’s exterior to bow inward and outward, according to the architect’s analysis.

In March, Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates presented the board with a 229-page feasibility study, examing the faciltiy conditions, enrollment projections and future options. Selfridge asked to see an additionl option, to consolidate the elementary schools. Currently, students attend either Osceola Mills, North Lincoln Hill or Philipsburg elementary schools.

Originally constructed in 1919, the Osceola Mills building underwent a major renovation and expansion in 1995. Its location in a residential area makes expansion unlikely, the architect has said. Blake said the brick portion being discussed dates back to the 1950s.